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THE WOMEN’S CLASS IN ACTION 
F, HARVEY MORSE 


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THE WOMEN’S CLASS _ 
IN ACTION 


BY fi 
F. HARVEY MORSE 


ADULT DIVISION SUPERINTENDENT, MISSOURI SUNDAY iar 
SCHOOL COUNCIL OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 


Author of “The Men’s Class in Action 





ILLUSTRATED 
WITH FORMS, ADVERTISEMENTS, ETC. 


NEW Gs YORK 


GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT, 1926, 
BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 


THE WOMEN’S CLASS IN ACTION 
Se eres 
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 


TO MY MOTHER 


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fT os | 





PREFACE 


A number of adult leaders have been kind enough 
to suggest that the author’s earlier book, The Men’s 
Class in Action, is equally suitable for use by leaders 
of women’s Bible classes. Although it is true that 
the same principles govern organized class work for 
both sexes, the application of those principles is fre- 
quently quite different. 

The purpose of this volume is to bring to leaders 
of women’s Bible classes those concrete illustrations, 
drawn from the experiences of women’s classes in all 
sections, which will stimulate a greater fervor in King- 
dom service. Like its companion volume, this one is 
planned to furnish “first-aid” to all the class officers 
—to serve, in effect, as a comprehensive training course 
for those who believe that the work of the line officers 
is, in many respects, of equal importance with that of 
the Teacher. To that end, over half the space is de- 
voted to a consideration of plans for officers other 
than the Teacher. It is only as the class develops and 
enlists efficient officers that it will be thoroughly effec- 
tive in its service to its members, its church, and the 
community. 

The Women’s Class in Action is not merely a change 
of pronouns from The Men’s Class in Action. Some 
sections of the earlier work can obviously be repeated 
verbatim—the material is apropos for groups of either 
sex. For the most part, however, it has been necessary 

Vil 


Vill Preface 


to prepare entirely new material to meet the specific 
needs of groups of women. As far as the author is 
aware, this is the only attempt to provide a guide book 
definitely for the women’s class. 

The test of any book is not so much what is in it 
as what the reader gets out of it. The plans suggested 
here will be of value to classes of women only as the 
officers adapt them to their local conditions and work 
them. “Plans,” says Miss Jessie Burrall, “are like 
fainting women; they must be carried out.” If this 
little volume helps the class officers and members catch 
a greater vision of what the class can accomplish, if it 
stirs them to carry out more and better plans, if it 
helps the members develop into more efficient Christian 
workers, it will have justified the author’s fondest 
hopes. 

No author has the right to claim entirely as his own, 
a work such as this, which is, in a sense, the result of 
the combined thought and experience of thousands of 
active Christian workers. This writer acknowledges 
his indebtedness to every one of the writers of the 
books listed in the bibliographies; to H. W. Becker, 
General Secretary of the Missouri Sunday School 
Council of Religious Education, and Mrs. S. O. Ware, 
Teacher of the Women’s Class of the Maplewood 
Baptist Church School for reading portions of the 
manuscript and for offering helpful criticisms; to Dr. 
H. E. Tralle, a pioneer of higher ideals in adult class 
work; to Chester J. Prince, St. Louis lay adult spe- 
cialist, for valuable suggestions incorporated; to the 
Adult Work Section of the International Sunday 
School Council for the life-centered-course idea; to 
Dr. Owen C. Brown for permission to reprint certain 


Preface 1X 


material originally written for the Adult Leader; to 
the students in the writer’s classes at the St. Louis 
Community Training School from whom he received 
many practical points; and to those classes that have 
kindly furnished forms, advertising, etc., for purpose 
of illustration. 
F. Harvey Morse. 

Maplewood, Missouri. 





CHAPTER 


CONTENTS 


PREFACE 


WomMeEN IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 
EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATION . 

EQUIPMENT 

THE Crass TEACHER . 

THE TEACHER AND THE CLass . 
PRINCIPLES OF STuDY CourRsE SELECTION 
BuILDING THE STuDY CouURSE 
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP IN THE CLAss 


SERVICE ACTIVITIES OF THE 'WoMEN’s 
BrpLtE Cass 


BuILpInG Crass MEMBERSHIP 
KEEPING THE MEemBeErRs CoMING 
Crass REcoRDs 

Crass FINANCES . , 
DEVELOPING THE SociAL INsTINCTs . 
Wuat THE LrpraRIAN Can Do . 
ADVERTISING THE CLAass 


APPENDICES 
A. ADDRESSES YOU NEED TO KNOW . 


B. SUGGESTIVE CONSTITUTION AND BY-= 
LAWS 
C. ADULT CLASS STANDARD 


INDEX 


293 





ILLUSTRATIONS 


FIGURE 


I 


2 
3 


15 
16 


VISITOR’S ATTENDANCE RECORD 
A CLASS INVITATION CARD 


ANOTHER CLASS INVITATION, INTERESTING AND 
DIGNIFIED 


EXAMPLES OF POOR FORMS OF STOCK POST 
CARDS 


A STOCK CARD SUITABLE FOR USE BY A 
WOMAN’S BIBLE CLASS 


A STOCK POST CARD WHICH PROVIDES SPACE 
FOR INDIVIDUALIZING 


A DIGNIFIED CARD IN KEEPING WITH BEST 
ADULT CLASS IDEALS 


MEMBER’S INDIVIDUAL WEEKLY REPORT EN- 
VELOPE ‘ ‘ . 


SECRETARY'S PERMANENT ATTENDANCE REC- 
ORD 


SIX-POINT LOOSE=-LEAF CLASS RECORD SHEET . 
ENROLLMENT CARD 

A COMPREHENSIVE CLASS REPORT SHEET 
WELL-DESIGNED CLASS STATIONERY . 


A SIMPLE LEDGER ACCOUNT FOR THE BIBLE 
CLASS 


TREASURER’S PLEDGE CARD 


TREASURER’S INDIVIDUAL COLLECTION RECORD 
Xili 


PAGE 


194 


199 
204 


204 
206 
207 
210 
213 


222 
223 
224 | 


X1V Illustrations 


FIGURE PAGE 
I7 SUGGESTION CARD FOR ENTERTAINER AND 
OTHER CLASS OFFICERS : ear Zin 
18 HALF OF A GOOD LETTER IS AN ATTRACTIVE 
LETTERHEAD. Ae Ths 
19 ‘THE FIRST PIECE IN A CAMPAIGN TO RECRUIT 
MEMBERS FOR A NEW CLASS ‘7 2Ge 
20 A WELL LAID-OUT MAILING CARD . YE 
2I COVER OF A FOUR-PAGE INVITATION FOLDER . 262 
22 INSIDE OF A FOUR-PAGE INVITATION FOLDER .. 263 
23 A SINGLE-PAGE CLASS PAPER . | ee 
24 YEAR BOOK ISSUED BY A LIVE MISSOURI CLASS 
OF WOMEN , : ; 21 ae 
25 A TYPICAL NEWS STORY . ee 


26 A HIGH-TYPE NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT . 274 


THE WOMEN’S CLASS IN ACTION 


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THE WOMEN’S CLASS 
IN ACTION 


CHAPTER I 


WOMEN IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 
I. DOES THE SCHOOL WANT ADULTS? 


|B a Sunday school convention a county Adult 
Superintendent who was also the local superin- 
tendent of public schools, made the statement that he 
saw no use in going after the adults—he couldn't see 
that they did the school much good. Considering the 
facts that, in many cases, comparatively few of the 
adults enrolled in the church are in the school—fifty 
per cent was the estimate of twenty teachers in one 
of the writer’s training classes—and that little effort 
is being made to get either them or the unchurched 
members of the community, one is almost forced to 
believe that this attitude toward adults and their place 
in the church school is general enough to cause real 
concern. 

On the other hand, there are schools that do care for 
the adults—women and men. The church school 
leaders realize the importance of building up a strong 
adult membership, They appreciate the fact that the 

17 


18 The Women’s Class in Action 


great work the churches are expected to accomplish in 
the community, state, nation and world cannot be done 
solely by a few paid workers from each church, They 
know that there must be developed a capable lay leader- 
ship of men and women who will follow the paid 
leaders and really accomplish something worth while. 
They know further that it is futile to expect the church 
school to give the child all his moral training. The 
home must cooperate—and that means that the parents 
and especially the mothers must cooperate. Hence 
these schools do get adults, do have a large proportion 
of the available women, and do it because they know 
they must have them to render an efficient service. 
The present task of adult leaders is to impart a vision 
of the mighty possibilities of adults properly enlisted 
in Christian activities. 


II. THE SCHOOL SHOULD SUPPLY A GRADED PROGRAM 
FOR ITS ADULTS 


The principle of grading has now been quite gen- 
erally accepted for church school pupils from the Cradle 
Roll through the Young People’s Department. We 
know that interests differ in these various stages of 
development, and that a program suited to the intelli- 
gence of a particular age, and built in accord with 
recognized characteristics of that age, will not suit 
another period. But when we reach adulthood, we 
have been prone to consider all adults in one class; yet 
they certainly are not—neither in intellect nor interest. 
If the church school is to reach adults it must provide 
an adult program suited to the various interests of 
the adults in its constituency, and planned for groups 


Women in the Church School 19 


differing greatly in their ability to appreciate cur- 
riculum materials. 


III. AGE GRADING 


The closeness with which women will be graded in 
the church school will depend largely upon the size 
of the school. In general, the school should provide 
for at least three separate age groups. 


Young Women 


First, there are the younger women—those whose 
ages range from eighteen to twenty-five—the period 
of later adolescence. Strictly speaking, these young 
women are not adults—they should have a place in the 
Young People’s Department. However, many schools 
not having a complete departmental organization place 
the young women in the Adult Department, and often 
even include them in groups of women considerably 
older. This age should, by all means, be grouped in a 
separate class. 

“From various studies it seems clear that there is a 
time of special religious interest at twenty. Less than 
one-sixth of the conversions studied took place after 
twenty. One-half of these, again, were before twenty- 
five. The chances are a thousand to one against con- 
version after thirty.” * The importance of reaching 
the young women of these ages with vital, appealing 
teaching surely must be apparent to Christian workers. 
The ideals of this period, and the characteristic in- 
stincts which show themselves at this time, call for 
distinct types of management, teaching and activities 
if the young women are to be held in the school. 

1 Weigle, “The Pupil,” Chapter VI. 


20 The Women’s Class in Action 


The religion of this period is a concrete religion—- 
one that has its natural outpouring in religious activity. 
For the young woman there must be practical teachings 
of Christian living—teachings that apply to the prob- 
lems confronting her daily. The minds of young 
people to-day are in a state of flux regarding moral 
and social problems. It is a day of questioning of 
traditional modes of conduct. Narrow theories, tire- 
some discussions of controversial points of the Scrip- 
ture, prejudiced viewpoints, and dogmatic teachings 
have no interest for the young woman—she is think- 
ing for herself. She wants to know how her religion 
is going to be of practical value to her—how it will 
help her in her daily work and in her social relation- 
ships—what bearing it has upon her recreational pro- 
gram and upon her selection of friends—whether it 
plays a part in the selection of a life companion and 
the building of a Christian home, and whether it is 
workable in the modern social and industrial order. 
And it is very likely that she will desire to know 
whether the teachings of the Bible are really reconcil- 
able to the teachings of science. The modern young 
woman is questioning, and subjecting her religion to 
the acid test of practical workability. 

In winning and holding the young woman, the 
Church School must be guided by the psychological 
characteristics of the period; it must recognize the 
unusual freedom of thought and action enjoyed by 
young people of to-day; it must take advantage of 
the altruistic instincts now at the high point in their 
development ; it must give opportunity for self-expres- 
sion to the extent of leadership—these women are no 
longer children, but to a large degree fully matured; 


Women in the Church School 21 


it must use the natural groupings taking place among 
its young women and give them in the church school 
the right sort of organization to enable them best to 
express themselves in Christian service. The church 
school need not hesitate to emphasize the spiritual— 
provided it be a vital spirituality and not antiquated 
theology. 


Early Maturity 


In the second place are the women of what may be 
termed “early maturity’—those from about twenty-five 
to thirty-five or forty. In this group will be found a 
large number of the younger married women—those 
with whom many problems of home building and child 
training are yet unsolved. There will also be a large 
number of successful business women. Because of the 
greater responsibilities resting upon this group, it is 
not always possible for its members to participate in 
activities as extensive as those engaged in by the 
younger women. On the whole, the women are more 
settled—their viewpoints are more mature—responsi- 
bility has stabilized life and character. The practical 
application of Christianity to modern home life, to the 
realm of politics, in which women are now really be- 
ginning to be interested, and to business problems ap- 
peals strongly to them. For best results, women of 
these ages should be grouped in classes by themselves, 
rather than with either younger or older women. 


Later Maturity 


Above thirty-five or forty is the period of later ma- 
turity. The general interests may not differ greatly 
from those of the preceding period, but such interests 


22 The W nena Class in Action 


are reénforced by a much richer experience than the 
younger women have. Here are successful mothers, 
women active in the educational and political life of 
the community, and many successful business women. 
Families of this group will likely have achieved a cer- 
tain degree of financial and social success—many 
women will again have more time to devote to philan- 
thropic endeavor than they had during the previous 
ten years—and they will also have more time for 
pleasure. 


Old Age 


If there are a sufficient number of women above 
fifty-five years of age, these may also well be separated 
from those of Later Maturity and grouped in a class 
of their own. 


IV. INTEREST GRADING 


Age grading is not sufficient for women in the church 
school. In very small schools it may be impracticable 
to grade more closely. However, if at all possible, 
there should be additional grading on the basis of in- 
terests, in order to provide the means of giving in- 
struction suited to the needs of every woman. Interest 
grading will vary in different schools; a few of the 
more desirable divisions are discussed below. 


Young Married People 


This group will very likely come from the Young 
Women and the Early Maturity age divisions. Many 
schools organize a mixed class of young married folks; 
others simply have a class of young married women. 


W omen in the Church School 23 


It is easily seen that these women have common 
problems and interests which make a separate class 
desirable. Such a class should not consist of any folks 
married longer than three or four years. 


College Women 


Women attending school have different interests 
from the same aged women who are in the business 
world. If there are any large number of such women 
in the school, or available for the school, a class should 
be provided for them, conducted under the direction 
of trained leaders who will give them instruction equal 
in quality to that given by the college. Let us not 
permit the church school to suffer in comparison with 
the secular schools. 


Business Women 


This group represents a goodly number of women 
whose experiences and interests differ widely from 
those of home makers. If the school has enough busi- 
ness women attending, it may provide classes for two 
or perhaps all three of the suggested age divisions. A 
business woman should be secured to lead such a class 
if possible. 


Home Girls 


In many communities there are a large number of 
unmarried women who, for various reasons, remain at 
home instead of engaging in business. Lessons ap- 
plied to business life would hardly appeal to them. 
Their interests are closely related to those of parents, 
and will usually appreciate lessons prepared with their 
own needs in mind. 


24. The Women’s Class in Action 


Parents 


The churches have too long neglected the parents of 
the children who attend the church school. Leaders 
are now realizing that the parents must codperate with 
the school in building moral character, if that task is 
to be done completely. There is needed in every church 
school at least one class of mothers—preferably one for 
each stage of the development of childhood—so that 
specific help may be given parents of the little child, 
the junior, the early adolescent, the middle adolescent 
and young people. And the mothers should not be 
satisfied until there are also parents’ classes for the 
fathers. Such classes will study actual problems in 
child training with a view of giving practical help to 
the parents attending. Success will be more certain if 
the class be conducted as a conference of parents 
under the direction of a competent leader rather than 
degenerating into a theoretical lecture. 


V. GRADING ADJUSTMENTS 


Every school should, if at all practicable, have 
women’s classes graded by the three primary age di- 
visions of Section III at least. If only two classes may 
be had, better unite the ages from twenty-five and up, 
giving the young women from eighteen to twenty-five 
separate organization. It must, of course, be remem- 
bered that these age divisions are not arbitrary and 
may often be adjusted a year or two either way. It | 
will be found though, that unless such separate classes 
are provided, holding the younger women will be ex- 
ceedingly difficult. 


Women in the Church School 25 


The problem of age grading is frequently compli- 
cated by the fact that members bring to the school 
friends whose ages may differ considerably from their 
own. Such prospects should, if possible, be placed in 
the proper age class on the very first day of attendance; 
then the danger of causing an out-of-place feeling be- 
cause of age difference is obviated and the possibility 
of class jealousy eliminated. Leaders and members of 
adult classes should be brought into sympathy with 
the desirability of such grading—it must be remem- 
bered that the school exists to help each individual 
member develop her Christian life, rather than to build 
a mere attendance record for any one class. 

Every effort should be made to maintain age grad- 
ing. ‘That is to say, school leaders should not assign 
nor promote young people into what was once a young 
people’s class, but which has through process of time 
become a class of older women. The graded school 
of to-day has regular promotions from department to 
department. Why should there not also be regular 
promotions from classes of younger adults to those 
containing older members? ‘This is actually being done 
in some schools, notable among them being the church 
school connected with the Linwood Boulevard M. E. 
Church of Kansas City, Missouri. 

In this particular school young people having com- 
pleted the work of the Young People’s Department are 
promoted into the Criterion Class, which consists of 
young, unmarried adults ranging in age from twenty- 
two to twenty-eight years. This class is composed of 
both men and women. As soon as members of the 
Criterions marry—men or women—that act automati- 


26 The Women’s Class in Action 


cally places them in the Keystone (Homemakers’) 
Class—a young married couples’ organization. Women 
reaching the age of twenty-eight or thereabout pass 
into the Philathea Class, which consists almost entirely 
of unmarried business women, teachers and unmarried 
women from the home. Men of the same age pass 
to the Men’s Class. When women of the Keystone 
(young married couples) Class reach the age of thirty- 
five they pass to the WinSome (Matrons’) Class while 
their husbands take places in the Men’s Class. At 
approximately the age of forty the members of the 
WinSomes move into the Women’s Class. 

The Linwood Boulevard Adult Department is, of 
course, one of the larger ones, but even in departments 
considerably smaller, it is possible to maintain an ef- 
fective scheme of grading and promotions—a more 
simple one than described, to be sure. 

It may often be found satisfactory to allow classes 
to grow old, organizing new classes for younger adults 
as members are promoted from the Senior and Young 
People’s Departments. ‘This may necessitate changes 
in names of older classes if the program of the de- 
nomination, which often provides a common denomi- 
national name, is to be adhered to. To illustrate: 
Northern Baptists sponsor Amoma classes for young 
women eighteen to twenty-five years of age, and 
Amoma Senior classes for those older. If an Amoma 
class grows old, it should change its name to the senior 
designation or choose another name, relinquishing the 
former to the younger class. The writer has seen © 
time and again, young women visit a school and ask 
for a class of a certain denominational or interdenomi- 
national name, only to be greatly embarrassed when 


Women in the Church School 2/1 


ushered into a class of women all of whom were con- 
siderably older than the visitor. 

Interest grading will need to be flexible, and based 
upon the expressed wishes of the members of the Adult 
Department. When a member feels that her interests 
have changed, she should feel free to change classes if 
she wishes, 

Some may criticize close interest grading, thinking 
that it will induce snobbishness. Interest grading is 
urged especially for the teaching period, and with the 
understanding the individual herself shall decide in 
what direction her interests lay. The development of 
sociability and the united execution of large service 
projects should be handled through the Adult Depart- 
ment. Then both the enthusiasm of numbers and the 
effective work of small groups may be utilized. 

There may be times when classes of different inter- 
ests along certain lines may be brought together for 
courses of lessons of interest to both. For instance a 
class following an elementary course and one pursuing 
an advanced course might well be combined tempo- 
rarily to study a course on denominational missions, or 
the history of the Bible. Or a class which had been 
using parent training courses might sometimes wish to 
join another class in studying an outline or intensive 
Bible course of interest to both. Some schools have 
attempted to provide for such adjustments by offering 
an elective curriculum from which the members of the 
department choose courses. As soon as one course is 
completed, the members select others. In that way 
members are always studying in line with their in- 
dividual interests, but the personnel of the classes is 
changing from time to time. Such a plan requires an 


28 The Women’s Class in Action 


effective departmental service and social organization 
to carry on the work handled in the past by the class, 
as well as a group of exceptionally well-qualified 
teachers. It should be attempted only after most care- 
ful study and consideration of the needs of the women 
whom it is hoped to reach. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


Barclay, “Organization and Administration of the Adult 
Department.” 

Bovard, “Adults in the Sunday School.” 

Coe, “Religion of a Mature Mind.” 

James, “Talks to Teachers on Psychology.” 

Richardson, “The Religious Education of Adolescents,” 
Chr. 

Soares, “A Study of Adult Life.” 

Strickland-McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class,” Sec- 
ond Division, Chs. I, II, III. 

Wood, “Adult Class Study,” Pt.I, Ch. I. 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


1. In what way does the success of the churches de- 
pend upon efficient lay leadership? 

2. Has your school all the women in its membership 
that it should? What proportion of its possibilities from 
the church membership do you judge it has? From the 
community? If it has not all it should have, what is the 
reason? How can this condition be remedied? 

3. Would you make any changes in the age groupings 
suggested in this chapter? If so, what? 

4. How do women from eighteen to twenty-five differ | 
in interests from those of twenty-five to thirty-five? Are 
there any conditions of which you know under which 
these two groups should be combined ? 

5. What differences in interests are there between 


Women in the Church School 29 


the women of the twenty-five to thirty-five-year-old group 
and those of the group above thirty-five? 

6. What are the advantages of interest grading? How 
would you grade the women of your school from the 
standpoint of interest? Do you think interest grading 
will create snobbishness ? 


CHAPTER II 


EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATION 


I. THE APPEAL OF ORGANIZATION 


A& the girl enters the period of later adolescence, she 
becomes conscious that organization exists every- 
where—in the home, in the high school clubs, in college 
activities, in business, in the social order, in the great 
political parties, secret societies, and in the realm of 
religion. The young woman feels within herself the 
surge of a dynamic which assures her that she, too, is 
capable of accomplishing great things. She wants to 
have some part in the work of the church and church 
school—not be merely a passive onlooker. Observing 
through her contact with organized activities in school 
or business, that proper organization is the economical, 
the progressive way of getting things done, this think- 
ing young woman begins to respect more and more the 
church that employs business methods in its work. If 
the church and school will but recognize this potential 
force, harness it early and keep it harnessed by means 
of the right kind of class organization, the problem of 
getting and holding women in the church school will 
cease to be a problem. Organization, while not a 
panacea for all ills, is a substantial foundation upon 
which may be built a sound structure of inestimable’ 
value to the school, the church, the community and the 
Kingdom. 
30 


Effective Organization 31 


Characteristics of Organization * 


An organization usually has a small beginning. 
Christ started Christianity that way. The fact that 
only a few women are interested in an organized Bible 
class should deter no one from starting such a class. 
No class need remain small for long. 

An organization needs care and nurture in the be- 
ginning. So does the women’s Bible class—The man- 
ner of cultivating the young, delicate religious plant 
will be outlined in later chapters. 

The element of time must be considered—large or- 
ganizations are not built in a day. Patience is an 
essential in building the women’s class—on the part 
of the teacher in planning how best to appeal to the 
members, and on the part of members who look for 
rapid growth. 

Organizations go from the simple to the complex, as 
they strive to accommodate themselves to their en- 
vironment. As the class grows in health and strength 
by meeting local conditions its organization is neces- 
sarily expanded. 

The value of the organization to the individual lies 
in the spirit of inter-dependence developed. Paul 
shows the value of this characteristic in his wonderful 
discourse on the relation of the parts of the body (I 
Cor. 12). Christ emphasizes it in His picture of the 
vine and its branches (John 15:1-8). Cooperation 
among members induces smoothness of action; if it 
is lacking the organization soon ceases to function. 

The common fate of organization is death, yet 


1 For the basis of this statement regarding organization, and the 
one on page 92, “Balancing the Study Course,” the author is indebted 
to Mr. C. J. Prince, Adult Specialist, St. Louis. 


32 The Women’s Class in Action 


through death the living plant is reproduced to flower 
more beautifully. The test of the organized Bible 
class is that it is dying weekly, as its members go out 
into larger work of the church and community. But 
through death comes renewed life. 


The Value of Class Organization 


Organization is conducive of class growth—the his- 
tory of classes in all sections is proof of this state- 
ment, The invitation of a teacher may secure members 
for the class, but systematic efforts of the members 
themselves secure maximum results. Women can 
usually reach other women when all efforts of teacher 
and pastor have failed. Organized cooperative recruit- 
ing methods are much more effective than haphazard 
individual endeavor. ‘The properly organized class 
must grow! 

The organized class is a permanent class. The class 
that is held together by the personality of a teacher or 
by some force outside of the class itself will very 
likely cease to exist if the attracting forces are re- 
moved. The organized class has taken upon its own 
shoulders the responsibility for its continued existence. 
Time and again classes losing their teachers have either 
secured new teachers or furnished them from the 
ranks of the class itself—striking evidence that the 
class organization is more than a meaningless form and 
that the class is actually training for broader service. 

The organized class develops, through its efforts to 
attain an end, class loyalty and a class spirit which 
serves as an incentive to greater activity. 

The organized class provides work for every mem- 


Effective Organization 33 


ber, and yet the work is so evenly distributed that there 
is no burden upon any individual. At the same time 
the woman’s interest is being held because she has a 
definite responsibility in connection with the class work. 

The organized class provides a definite aim toward 
which all the members may work. It gathers the scat- 
tered, latent forces existing in its membership and 
molds them into a community force for good. Unity 
of purpose and effort result in a spiritual and social 
cohesion that would otherwise be impossible. 

The social needs of the women of the school, church 
and community may be effectively met through the 
organized class. Opportunity for social expression is 
furnished through the medium of social evenings, 
picnics, athletics and the like. 

The women’s class is not usually organized specifi- 
cally as a teacher training class, yet the training re- 
ceived from properly planned courses of study will 
serve the members as a foundation when entering upon 
the larger work of the church and the school. 


II. FORM OF ORGANIZATION 


Departmental or Committee Plan? 


Experience has demonstrated beyond question the 
superiority of the departmental plan of class organi- 
zation, by which the responsibility for the work of a 
department of class activity is placed in the hands of 
an individual. Dr. P. E. Burroughs states succinctly 
the distinct practical advantages of this form: * 

“t. This plan has the advantage of simplicity. 

1P. E. Burroughs, “The Present Day Sunday School,” p. 178. 


34. The Women’s Class in Action 


There is a single line of assignment instead of a double 
line. This is especially advantageous in small classes. 

“2, It has the advantage of definiteness. In all 
cases one individual is held responsible for assigned 
duties. 

“3. Itis flexible. If the class is large, and its work 
intricate and varied, the number of officers may be 
increased and each officer may utilize other members as 
needed.”’ 


Organization Outline 

The work of the class is divided into departments, 
each under the direction of an officer. The following 
scheme of organization is one used by many classes 
with excellent results—all phases of class work are 
thoroughly covered. 

The TEACHER has charge of the teaching. 

The PRESIDENT is the executive head of the class and 
its spiritual leader. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT is the class recruiting officer— 
she secures the new members. 

The SECRETARY keeps the class records and attends 
to business correspondence. 

The TREASURER handles the class finances. 

The visitor looks after the absentees—keeps the 
members coming. 

The ENTERTAINER ministers to the social needs of 
the class. 

The LIBRARIAN encourages the art of good reading. 

The REPORTER is the class advertising manager. 

These officers constitute the class executive board. 
The individual duties of the several officers are dis- 
cussed fully in subsequent chapters. It is not at all 


Effective Organization 35 


essential that the class work be divided exactly as above 
indicated, nor that the same names be used for the 
officers. Some classes, for example, designate a first, 
second and third Vice-President to care for the work 
of enlargement, fellowship, and the religious activities, 
respectively. 

If a class is starting with but few members, fewer 
officers will be needed to care for its work. Naturally, 
as the class grows, officers will be added until a full 
corps is at work. The point to keep in mind at all 
times is to have one responsible head of every depart- 
ment of work in which the class is engaged. 


Assistants 


The departmental plan of organization assures the 
development of executive ability. No departmental 
head is ever expected actually to do all the work of 
her department. She is rather the planner-in-chief. 
Emphasis is placed upon the importance of giving every 
woman work to do—and holding her responsible for 
it. The department heads therefore appoint, from 
those not elected to office, assistants to handle specific 
phases of the departmental activities. These assist- 
ants, being held responsible for the execution of definite 
work, receive valuable experience which develops their 
abilities and trains them to become class officers later. 
Give a woman a real job to challenge her ability and 
the class has a strong hold on that woman. But it 
must be a worthy task of adult proportions. Jane 
Addams * tells the story of a woman, fresh from col- 
lege with an inspiration to render a fitting service to 
the Master,—thoroughly trained, capable. On her re- 

1 Addams, “The Spirit of Youth in the City Streets.” 


36 The Women’s Class in Action 


turn home, she went to her pastor and asked to be put 
to work in the local church. After pondering a few 
moments, he made the astounding suggestion that she 
be responsible for flowers on the pulpit each Sunday,— 
a splendid suggestion for a junior girl, but certainly 
disappointing to one who had left off a milk diet for 
meat. Adult class leaders must be given a vision of 
the immensity of the task before us. 


Ill HOW TO ORGANIZE 


Organize Existing Classes 


‘This is the simplest way of forming a class organi- 
zation. The benefits of organization should be ex- 
plained to the class members, literature distributed and 
an enthusiasm for organization created. It is well to 
seek the cooperation of the Pastor and the church 
school Superintendent. This method gives a nucleus 
on which a strong class can be built. 


Organize a New Class 


First, interest some few women who can see the need 
of an organized Bible class and build around these key 
women. Aim to interest others than personal friends 
—women from all walks of life. Distribute literature 
freely to those whom you are trying to interest, Ad- 
vertise the purpose of the proposed class. Set a date 
for organization, and a date, perhaps a month later, 
at which the privilege of becoming a charter member 
will cease. It is sometimes desirable to have a recep- 
tion to the women of the community, a week or so 
before the date set for organization. At the time of 
organizing, full details should again be given to those 


Effective Organization 37 


attending. The plan of work and the place of the 
officers should be thoroughly explained. Then a tem- 
porary organization may be formed, a temporary set 
of necessary officers elected, and a constitutional com- 
mittee appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws 
suited to the particular needs of the class. Permanent 
organization may be perfected after the report of the 
constitutional committee. The work of the class as a 
Bible class should start at once. Every organized class 
should register with its denominational Sunday School 
Board and receive such help as may be offered—appli- 
cation blanks are furnished by the boards. Remember 
that numbers at the start do not matter if the aim is 
to grow. 


IV. MIXED CLASSES 


In the preceding chapter it was suggested that there 
might be organized a young married couples’ class. 
Such a class is the only mixed class that the author 
would recommend in the adult department. For the 
best results the women should be in classes by them- 
selves. 

It means better teaching. ‘The lessons may be freely 
adapted to meet the distinctive needs of the women and 
discussion will be more frank and unrestrained. In 
one of the largest so-called “mixed classes,” the Char- 
acter Builders of the Madison Heights Methodist Sun- 
day School, Memphis, the men and women are always 
segregated for their teaching period. 

There are times when women want to be with 
momen. Regardless how much a wife loves a husband, 
or how much the women may enjoy the company of 


38 The Women’s Class in Action 


men on occasions, there are times when they do enjoy 
being with other women. It is only natural that they 
should—they have too much in common to feel willing 
to give up all feminine companionship for that of the 
opposite sex alone. 

Women express themselves differently from men. 
Their lines of service activities will be different in many 
cases; to some extent their social expression differs 
too. For that reason there should be a women-built 
program for the women. 

A mixed group is often possible and desirable for 
the conduct of social affairs, provided the groups are 
congenial. Separate classes for women are here con- 
sidered primarily with reference to the class teaching 
program. 


V. THE CLASS NAME 


The class name is the outward symbol of the class 
itself and should reflect the spirit of the class. If the 
denomination under whose banner the class is working 
has an adult program, with a denominational class 
name, it is advisable to adopt such a name as far as 
possible. The wearing of the emblem of a class or- 
ganization national in its influence is a strengthening 
element in adult work, identifying the membership, 
whenever it may be, with a Christian organization. 

If a class desires to choose a name distinctive to it- 
self, that is not difficult if certain fundamentals are 
kept in mind. 

The name should be feminine. In general that 
means the use of the softer letters of the alphabet, 
which give the impression of daintiness, grace and 


Effective Organization 39 


charm. Such names as Amoma, Philathea, Fidelis, 
B. O. F. (Beauties of Friendship) and Setrucha are 
names in point. 

The name should be adult. Busy Bees, Sunbeams 
and Blue Birds are names recently discovered attached 
to women’s classes—perfectly acceptable names for 
junior girls, but absolutely devoid of any adult sig- 
nificance. 

The name should have a meaning, <A traveler on a 
train which carried no diner heard a boy at a station 
call, “Hot meat pie.” Being quite hungry, he bought 
one only to find that it was not hot and contained no 
meat. “What do you mean,” he asked the boy, “by 
calling this a hot meat pie?’ “Oh, mister,’’ was the 
reply, “that’s just the name of it.” Many class names 
are just like that meat pie—they don’t mean anything. 
A meaningful name induces pride on the part of the 
class members and is an advertising asset of great 
value. Each of the following names has a meaning 
of considerable inspiration: 

Amoma—A blameless life. 

B. O. F.—Beauties of Friendship. 

Character Builder—Building of Christian Character. 

Christian Home Makers—Building the Christian 
Home. 

C. I. C.—Class in the Corner; aim, to brighten dark 
corners. 

Fideles—Faithfulness, 

Gleaners—Gathering the Harvest. 

King’s Service—Missionary Service Class. 

Maran Atha—“Behold He Cometh.” 

Marmaru—Loyalty to Christ, Friends and Home 
(Mary, Martha, Ruth). 


40 The Women’s Class in Action 


Marytha—Service and Spirituality (combination of 
Mary and Martha). 

Philathea—Lovers of Truth. 

Setrucha—Service, Truth, Charity. 

T. E. L.—Timothy, Eunice, Lois (Mother’s Class). 


VI. RELATION TO THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 


The women’s class, as are all other classes, is an 
integral part of the school. The class should, if pos- 
sible, meet with the school or the department of which 
it is a part, for either the opening or closing worship 
period—and it is usually always possible. The open- 
ing period will almost always be found more con- 
venient for the class. 

When the class does not meet with the school it is 
very easy for the members to forget that it is a part 
of a larger organization. That feeling shows itself by 
the attitude of members toward matters of interest to 
the whole school. For instance class members fre- 
quently fail to understand why any of the Sunday 
morning offerings should go to the school treasury. 
Often, too, there are strenuous objections when mem- 
bers are taken from the class for service in other de- 
partments, or when the class is asked to make some 
sacrifice for the general good. 

On the other hand the school has its obligation to 
the class. The church and school should recognize that 
the women’s class, because of its maturity, is entitled 
to greater liberty of action than classes of young girls. 
The class should be allowed a longer time for its 
lesson; that means that the members should not be ex- 
pected to attend the closing worship if they attend the 


Effective Organization 4] 


opening services. The class teacher should not be 
selected without consulting the desires of the class; and 
the study course should be one built by the class in 
conjunction with the school’s educational committee. 

The school should also be careful not to “bleed” the 
class of its growing members. In most schools it is 
the custom of the Superintendent in search of teachers 
to go to the adult classes for both substitutes and regu- 
lar workers. If the matter is not watched it is easy 
to take away so many of the leading workers as to 
cripple the class work for several years. The greatest 
danger is in smaller classes—the school must not reduce 
the class working force below the limit of safety. 


VII. THE CLASS IN THE DEPARTMENT 


One criticism of adult classes in the past—and it 
has been a just criticism—is that they have often con- 
sidered themselves virtually independent departments. 
The various classes planned their own programs of 
recruiting, of instruction, and of fellowship. Oc- 
casionally two classes might cooperate in some en- 
deavor, but in general there was no unifying force 
to direct the energies of the classes toward a common 
end. 

The principle of separation—of grading—for pur- 
pose of study and fellowship is thoroughly sound. 
Nevertheless there are many objectives that can be 
reached more effectively by united effort on the part 
of all the adults of the church school. There is no 
reason why several classes should conduct independent 
canvasses for new members when a really thorough 
campaign could be conducted by the combined classes 


42 The Women’s Class in Action 


in the interest of all. So too, many pieces of com- 
munity service, too extensive for a single class to 
undertake, may well be within the reach of all the 
classes organized and working as an adult department. 

In the coming church school, the adult department 
will be the basic unit for work involving adults. 
Through department organization adult leaders will 
develop 2 comprehensive, graded program embracing 
educational, social and service elements—a program 
which will include within its scope every adult of the 
church and the community. The work of teaching, 
of attendance maintenance and of social affairs for 
the smaller groups will be carried on through the in- 
dividual class, but the larger program will be pro- 
moted by the department—all the classes working 
cooperatively. 

The adult department should be organized with the 
usual officers—Superintendent, Secretary, Chorister, 
etc. In addition there will be directors of activities 
corresponding to the directors of class activities. For 
instance, the class Vice-President has charge of get- 
ting new members. In the adult department, the Vice- 
Presidents of all the classes will work under the leader- 
ship of a Director of Enlargement (who may be one 
of the Vice-Presidents) in carrying out a church-wide 
and community-wide effort to increase the membership 
of the department. That means that membership cam- 
paigns will be in the interest of all classes instead of 
just one. In making personal canvasses, the visitors 
will solicit the attendance of every adult of the house- 
hold. The jealousy so often seen between adult classes 
of even the same school will be eliminated by mag- 
nifying the departmental ideal. 


Effective Organization 43 


In the same way, the class Entertainers will build 
a department social program, led by a department 
Director of Fellowship. The class Reporters will form 
the publicity committee for the department. The 
Teachers will naturally form the department educa- 
tional committee, which will, in turn, be represented 
on the church educational committee. And the class 
Presidents, working with the departmental Superin- 
tendent, will constitute the departmental executive 
committee. 

Such is the organization of a department of perma- 
nent classes. In some cases, though, a different type 
of department organization will be developed—a de- 
partment of temporary classes. In a department of 
this latter type, all the adults of the church will be 
organized under just one set of officers, with duties 
similar to those outlined for class officers on page 34. 
The general activities for the entire group will be pro- 
moted by this corps of officers. 

The only group separation will be for the teaching 
period. Elective courses of study will be offered as 
in college. Each individual in the department will 
choose a course for a quarter or six months or a year. 
At the conclusion of one course, a member will choose 
another, in that way always studying along the lines of 
her greatest need and chief interest. Classes will be 
organized solely because a sufficient number of adults 
want to pursue a definite course of study. Those 
classes will require no officers other than Teacher, 
because the social program, the service program, the 
enlargement program, will be developed by the depart- 
ment officers and carried out by the members as a 
unified adult department group. 


44. The Women’s Class in Action 


Obviously, this latter plan cannot be put into ef- 
fective operation in the very small schools having just 
one adult class, and that one with comparatively few 
members. In such schools, the class and the depart- 
ment are one.* 


VIII. THE CLASS AND THE CHURCH 


We have considered the relation of the class to the 
adult department and to the church school. But bigger 
than either is the church itself, which embraces both. 
Christ left no instructions for organizing Bible classes 
or Sunday schools—He gave us the ideal of a church 
providing a balanced religious diet. For a group of 
women to study the Bible from a cultural standpoint 
is one thing—that can be done independent of a church. 
But a Bible class organized to develop Christian char- 
acter and not definitely related to a church is an 
anomaly. 

Equally anomalous is the class that draws from other 
churches to satisfy its ambition for numbers. The 
leader of a large theater class announced that the 
session would be dismissed promptly so as to give the 
members plenty of time to reach their own churches 
for preaching service. What right had that class to 
draw its members from the other churches in the first 
place? Those members should have been at their own 
churches during the teaching hour, rendering service 
to the church of which they were members. 

The women’s Bible class should constantly hold be- 


1In a work such as this, written primarily for class leaders, it is 
not possible to treat fully the work of an organized adult department. 
For a complete discussion of the department, adult leaders are re- 
ferred to Dr. Barclay’s excellent work, The Organization and Adminis- 
tration of the Adult Department. 


Effective Organization 45 


fore its members the obligation of a Christian to 
confess Christ publicly through church membership, 
and after that to enter into active Christian service. 
While social plans are essential to successful class 
work, the women’s class is not a social club. Neither 
is it a “culture society,” although culture of the finest 
sort will result from a sound, vitalized, teaching pro- 
gram. The women’s class will not consider its work 
completely successful unless it reaches into the church 
life, the home life, the community life, and into 
national life, doing its share to build finer character, 
better homes, more effective churches, a Christian com- 
munity, and a Godlike nation. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Barclay, “Organization and Administration of the Adult 
Department.” 
Barclay-Phifer, “Adult Worker and Work,” Chs. I, II, 
ihe TV: 
Blick, “The Adult Department,” Ch. XII. 
Bovard, “Adults in the Sunday School,’ Chs. I, II, ITI, 
IV. 
Pearce, “The O. A. B. C.” 
Strickland-McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class.” 
First Division, Chs. I, II, III, IV, V. 
Second Division, Ch. IV. 
Wells, “The Ideal Adult Class,” Ch. XII. 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


1. Why should adult classes be organized? Can you 
suggest aie situation in which organization would be 
inadvisable ? 

2. Do you think of any phases of class activity not 
included in the organization scheme outlined in this 
chapter ? 


46 The Women’s Class in Action 


3. In what way does the departmental plan of organi- 
zation develop class members? 

4. Do you believe that mixed classes are advisable? 
Why? 

5. Can you recall any adult classes bearing names 
unsuited to them? 

6. What is the value of members wearing the class 
emblem? 

7. How can the class be brought to see its proper rela- 
tionship to the school? 

8. What advantages do you see in the organization of 
an adult department? Any disadvantages? 

9g. What do you consider the chief ends of the women’s 
organized Bible class? 


CHAPTER III 


EQUIPMENT 
I. CLASS ROOM 


OOD equipment is needed if the women’s class 

is to do its best work. A class room is the first 

and by far the most essential requisite. A class cannot 

have the most effective teaching nor free discussions 

if forced to conduct its sessions in a main assembly 

room with a number of other classes. The progressive 

class is not satisfied until it has secured the degree of 

privacy necessary for class efficiency. There is almost 

always some way of securing at least partial separation 
from the rest of the school. 

One class resorted to screens as the best available 
means to secure separation—and they were quite effec- 
tive in keeping the eyes from wandering to all parts 
of the room, and did shut out some noise. Another 
class of women found that the section of the room 
behind the piano was suitable for class purposes. Fre- 
quently classes secure the use of a room in a residence, 
or office near the church building. The Burrall Bible 
Class of Washington, D. C., found it necessary to 
secure the use of a theater near the church when it 
outgrew the quarters provided for it. The Character 
Builders of Memphis (composed of men and women) 
erected a separate building for its organization to ac- 
commodate a growing attendance. Other classes have 


48 The Women’s Class in Action 


agitated until the men of the school volunteered to dig 
out unexcavated basements and fit them up for class 
room purposes, or until the church was awakened to 
the extent of launching a building program. If a class 
is satisfied with unfavorable class room conditions, or 
refuses to work for something better, then it will not 
get anything better. 

When a class room has been secured, it should be 
kept free from unnecessary interruptions. A certain 
class had a room so located that any one wishing to go 
to the Junior Department had to pass through the class 
room and down an uncarpeted stairway located in it. 
Often several boys at a time would find it necessary (?) 
to take that path at intervals during the course of the 
Sunday lesson. The same room also contained a water 
cooler for use of the whole school. Needless to say, 
the teacher was annoyed and the teaching of but little 
effect. In some schools the Secretary, Librarian or 
Superintendent himself is permitted to interrupt a class 
for the transaction of routine business. The class 
should demand that the school authorities give the 
members an uninterrupted lesson period—it is possible 
to do it. 


II. CLASS ROOM FURNISHINGS 


Furniture 


A class room containing nothing more than enough 
chairs for the members is much better than no class 
room. However, there are very few classes of women 
that will have a bare class room—-women feel the value 
of attractive surroundings and usually succeed in mak- 
ing their class rooms comfortable and homelike. They 


Equipment 49 


know that class interest and loyalty are greater when 
this is done. 

A rug or carpet will be the first item of class room 
furnishing which the women’s class will try to provide 
for its room. The appearance of a room will be en- 
tirely changed by the addition of even a moderately 
priced rug. Not only that, but the added quiet will 
contribute greatly toward a worshipful atmosphere. 
Inexpensive curtains at the windows will also help 
materially to transform a bare room into one of dainty 
charm. 

A small table should be provided for the use of the 
presiding officer or teacher. The Secretary needs a 
desk and the necessary card-index trays to enable her 
to keep complete permanent records. If the class has a 
library or reading room, bookcases will be needed to 
care for the books and reading matter properly. Noth- 
ing will be more appreciated by the members than a 
cloak rack placed either near the entrance of the room 
itself or in a small ante-room. Whatever furniture 
makes for more nearly complete comfort is just that 
much of a contribution to successful class sessions. 


Pictures 


Good pictures should be used as liberally as the 
finances of the class will permit. Not only do they 
add wonderfully to the attractiveness of the class room, 
but they stimulate thought along idealistic lines and 
typify an appreciation of the higher things of life. 
Reproductions of the best are now available in numer- 
ous inexpensive series such as the Perry Pictures, 
Copley Prints, Medici Prints, etc.» Photographs taken 


1 For catalogue, write Perry Picture Co., Malden, Mass.; Curtis & 
Cameron, Boston. 


50 The Women’s Class in Action 


by class members on outings and group pictures of 
the class, of banquets, of class clubs and others similar 
are splendid for use in decorating the room and have 
the added interest of personal associations. 

Just what particular pictures the class may wish to 
hang in its room will depend largely upon the tastes 
of the members of any particular class. In the fol- 
lowing list are suggested some masterpieces which are 
especially suited for display by a class of women. 


Adan, The End of Day. 

Alexander, The Pot of Basil. 

Boughton, Pilgrims Going to Church. 
Breton, Jules, Song of the Lark. 

Corot, Spring. 

Corot, Dance of the Nymphs. 

Da Vinci, The Last Supper. 

Ferruzzi, Madonna. 

Goodall, Rebecca. 

Hoffmann, Christ and the Woman of Samaria. 
Hoffmann, Christ and the Rich Young Ruler. 
La Brun, Mother and Daughter. 

Landseer, Saved. 

Millet, The Gleaners. 

Millet, Feeding Her Birds. 

Murillo, Immaculate Conception. 

Plockhorst, The Good Shepherd. 

Plockhorst, Christ Taking Leave of His Mother. 
Raphael, Sistine Madonna. 

Renouf, A Helping Hand. 

Reynolds, Age of Innocence. 

Reynolds, Simplicity. 


Equipment 51 


Thayer, Charity. 

Van Dyck, Baby Stuart. 
Watts, Hope. 

Whistler, Whistler’s Mother, 


Ill. TEACHING EQUIPMENT 


Bibles 


First of all, there should be a good supply of Bibles. 
The habit of bringing one’s own Bible is apparently on 
the wane, and however much we may deplore it, the 
class should meet the situation by providing copies for 
class use. The distinctive class appearance will be 
maintained if the class emblem is stamped on the cover. 

The American Revised Version or the New Trans- 
lation by Professor James Moffatt are ideal texts for 
use in religious education. Through them the class 
is given the benefit of the most recent discoveries of 
important manuscripts which clarify many passages 
obscure in the King James version, and of a language 
cleared of archaic terms and obsolete expressions. 
While the familiar text of the 300-year-old King James 
version is the basis of the revised version, and is re- 
tained as far as possible, the translations are of greater 
accuracy and the language is that in use to-day—which 
is much different from that of the seventeenth century. 


Blackboard 


Every teacher longs for a good blackboard, one on 
which she can write. Not only is it a valuable teach- 
ing accessory, but it may be made useful for posting 
notices, reports, etc. 


52 The Women’s Class in Action 


Maps 
The importance of the geographical background of 
biblical history has long been recognized by leading 
church school workers. The class should have a set 
of good maps for use in supplementing the lessons. 
As a minimum, the following are suggested: 
Palestine—New Testament. 
Paul’s Missionary Journeys. 
Palestine—Old Testament—United Kingdom. 
Palestine—Old Testament—Divided Kingdom. 
Old Testament Bible Lands. 
Denominational Missionary Map. 
Inter-denominational World Missionary Map. 
Outline maps printed on paper may also be pur- 
chased for a few cents and used in connection with 
mission studies of individual fields. 


SDM ROD H 


Stereo pticon—Stereoscope 


Any class will find the purchase of a stereopticon to 
be a splendid investment. Such an instrument is in- 
valuable for use in connection with study courses— 
missions, church history, biblical geography, social 
service, etc. It may be used for special day programs 
at Christmas, Thanksgiving, patriotic days—given for 
the entire school or church, It is a means of bringing 
the work of the class before the church and community 
by public, illustrated lectures. A class and its church 
and school will miss many opportunities for service if 
such an instrument is not available. A stereopticon 
may also be made a valuable aid to those in charge of 
the social affairs of the class. Such an instrument 
makes an ideal class gift to the school. In some cases 


Equipment 53 


several classes will find it desirable to club together for 
the purchase of a machine. 

Slides for use with the various types of lessons are 
easily secured. Most public schools have collections 
which may be borrowed; the state universities usually 
have extensive collections which may be had by simply 
paying transportation charges. Many public libraries 
have collections for the use of their patrons. The 
denominational mission boards have slides illustrating 
all the fields in which they work, which may be rented 
at a nominal charge of one or two dollars. Slides may 
also be rented from commercial bureaus of which may 
be mentioned the following: 

Keystone View Co., Meadville, Pa. 

Erker Brothers, St. Louis, Mo. 

Standard Slide Corporation, New York City. 

Victor Animatograph Company, Davenport, Iowa. 

It is easily possible for class members to prepare 
many slides themselves, using members’ camera pic- 
tures, cartoons, sketches, etc., as a basis. If the funds 
are sufficient, certain slides may be purchased and used 
by the class and church. 


Duplicating Machine 

Uses galore for a duplicating machine, such as the 
Mimeograph or Hecktograph, will be found in class 
work—producing special forms for class records, cir- 
cular letters in building attendance, invitations to class 
socials, lesson outlines and, most important, a class 
paper. The school and church of which the class is 
part will also find abundant uses for such a device. 
By the purchase of such a machine, the class will not 
only increase its possibilities of work among women, 


54 The Women’s Class in Action 


but will be performing a real service to its church and 
school. 


Iv. SOCIAL EQUIPMENT 


The amount of social equipment secured will depend 
upon local conditions and the financial ability of the 
class. A social room is in some cases desirable—a place 
where the women may gather in the evenings to read, 
to write, to play games, to sing, or just to chat. Such 
a room is especially needed in the boarding house and 
the congested districts. Such need has recently been 
forcefully expressed by writers to newspapers in St. 
Louis, Detroit and other cities, who asked where they 
could get acquainted with wholesome people and urged 
the organization of clubs for lonely strangers in a 
strange city. 

If no separate room can be secured for social pur- 
poses it is usually possible to use the class room as both 
a study room and a social hall. All that is necessary 
is to remove some of the chairs and to provide a table, 
literature, games, etc. 

A gymnasium, while desirable, can usually be best 
established in connection with the whole school. The 
class might well start a movement among the churches 
of the neighborhood for the establishment of a com- 
munity gymnasium for the use of all the churches, 

As the class will hold its worship service in connec- 
tion with that of the Adult Department, no musical 
instruments are needed. But if a social program is to 
be sponsored, a good piano should be available. Much 
pleasure will also be derived from a phonograph which 
need not be an expensive model. 


Equipment Sa 


All this may seem to be an elaborate plan of equip- 
ment. Many classes, because of the cost, will be able 
to have just a few of the items mentioned at the start. 
(There is no reason though for always remaining satis- 
fied with the minimum, Money spent for good equip- 
ment is an investment that will repay itself many 
times in the lives that have been strengthened through 
the activities of the class. The school should be 
brought to a recognition of these facts, and should not 
expect one class to bear the entire burden of proper 
equipment; but if the school and church are not suf- 
ficiently progressive to appreciate the economy, the 
fairness, and the logic of such a unified plan, then the 
class should make every effort to provide what it can 
to enable it to function in its best manner.” 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Barclay-Phifer, “The Adult Worker and Work,” Ch. V. 
Strickland-McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class,” 1st 
division, Ch. VII. 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


1. What is the relation of equipment to teaching? 

2. What items of equipment should your class have 
that it does not now have? How can the class secure 
them ? 

3. Should the class supply its own equipment or should 
it look to the school for it? 

4. Is it right to spend money to make a class room 
attractive when there is so much need in the world? 


1 For a discussion of the unified financial plan, see Chapter XIII, 
“Class Finances.” 


CHAPTER IV 


THE CLASS (TRACIIER 


I. IMPORTANCE OF A RIGHT SELECTION 


HE function of the Women’s Bible Class is to 

teach women that they may live lives in harmony 
with the life principles of Jesus Christ. It is there- 
fore essential that a wise choice be made in the selec- 
tion of the class Teacher. 

For best results, the Teacher of the women’s class 
should be a woman. Particularly is this true in classes 
of the younger women—those from eighteen to twenty- 
five. Only a woman can lead young women in the dis- 
cussion of their vital life problems. Of course, there 
is no valid objection to having occasionally a short 
course of study conducted by the Pastor of the church 
or some other man who is a specialist in his particular 
field. 

Just whom to select as Teacher for a class of women 
will depend largely upon the type of class. If it is a 
class of young business women, ,then a Christian 
woman successful in the business world or in civic 
affairs would be desirable. If it is a group of college 
women seeking a Teacher, it may be possible to secure 
an intelligent, likeable woman who is teaching or has 
taught. A conscientious mother will often make an 
ideal Teacher or leader of a parent-problems class. It 


is important that the Teacher know her Bible, it is true, 
56 


The Class Teacher 57 


but it is of much greater importance that she be able to 
sympathize with the members of the class, understand- 
ing as fully as possible their distinctive environments 
and problems, and influencing them to express the best 
in them in their own life situations. 


Il. THE TEACHER’S PERSONALITY 


There are two prerequisites to successful teaching— 
personality and training. If the Teacher also has nat- 
ural teaching ability, so much the better, but good 
teaching does not depend upon natural ability. Neither 
is training in the mechanics of teaching a guarantee 
of teaching success, The resultful Teacher is the one 
who by the sheer force of her personality brings her 
training into action and appeals irresistibly to those 
whom she teaches. The power and ability to become 
friendly with those she meets and to be liked by them; 
the ability to influence and to lead; the manner in 
which she carries herself among others; all these are 
included in the word “personality.” 

The Teacher must be a woman of highest personal 
character. She must make a vital appeal not only by 
her verbal teaching, but more so by her example of 
Christian living. She must be earnest and sincere. 
Nothing causes a Teacher to lose popularity more 
rapidly than the slightest exhibition of insincerity. 

The Teacher who hopes to succeed must be bubbling 
over with enthusiasm. Drowsy teaching will not make 
live, active Christians. If the Teacher cannot develop 
enthusiasm on a certain course of lessons, she had 
better secure a special teacher for that particular series, 
or even drop it altogether rather than teach it half- 


58 The Women’s Class in Action 


heartedly. If the Teacher is truly enthusiastic, her 
spirit will be caught by the class members and inter- 
esting lessons are certain to result. 

The Teacher should be a friend to every member of 
the class. The personal touch loses none of its charm 
when applied to adults. The successful Teacher will 
see that she knows each member. She will chat with 
all that she can before and after class sessions; she 
will call at their homes as far as time will permit; she 
will ask their advice and their opinions; she will be 
tactful and considerate toward the members. Miss 
Jessie Burrall, who has taught several of the largest 
classes of women in America, makes it a point to learn 
the names of all visitors to her classes during the week 
following their first visit—and finds that through such 
immediate interest, her influence with the class mem- 
bers grows stronger week by week. 

Upon the Teacher rests the responsibility of bringing 
women upon whom the duties of a Godly life have 
rested but lightly to a knowledge of the true meaning 
of Christianity. Itis her problem to show that religion 
is a vital every-day element and not merely a Sunday 
recreation or dissipation. She will be called upon to 
show that the teachings of Jesus can be applied to 
every-day life. As she may often be asked to explain 
or defend the principles upon which her denomination 
has been founded, it follows that the Teacher should 
be a member of the church of which her class is a part. 
She must know for what her denomination stands and 
why. The class Teacher must be at once a womanly 
woman and a real Christian. 

A neat personal appearance is absolutely essential to 
the teacher if the respect of her students is to be 


The Class Teacher 59 


maintained. Fine clothing is not necessary, but the 
clothing that the Teacher does possess should be scru- 
pulously clean and well pressed. It might seem un- 
necessary to bring this matter to the attention of teach- 
ers, yet this writer has seen teachers who have been 
just so negligent of their personal appearance—and 
who have failed. 

Detracting mannerisms should be carefully guarded 
against. A certain teacher had a habit of concluding 
almost every statement with the question, “Is it not?” 
This became so noticeable that the members took to 
counting the number of “is it not’s” during the course 
of the lesson. The class is attracted to the mannerisms 
rather than to the matter in the lesson. 

Finally, don’t apologize if you would maintain 
teaching prestige. Teachers often preface the lesson 
with such a remark as, “I am very sorry, but I was 
so busy last week that I had no time to prepare a 
lesson, but we'll try to get along as well as possible.” 
Will the class expect anything inspiring following such 
an introduction? With the proper general training a 
teacher will ofttimes be able to give a very presentable 
lesson even though circumstances prevented thorough 
preparation. Many otherwise good lessons have been 
spoiled by apologetic preludes. 


Ill. THE TEACHER’S TRAINING 


The thinking Teacher will quickly realize that spe- 
cial training is necessary to teach effectively classes of 
women, the membership of which may include college 
students and graduates, women from the home, suc- 
cessful business women, and those with a limited 


60 The Women’s Class in Action 


amount of education or training. The Teacher must 
know how to appeal to the intellectual element as well 
as how to bring truths to the level of the other mem- 
bers. A Teacher can give to her pupils only that which 
she has made her own through experience and training. 
In the past, while urging training upon teachers of 
children, we have seemingly overlooked the crying 
need of better general preparation on the part of adult 
leaders. 


Training in the Bible 


Since the Bible is the basis of the class teaching, it 
follows that the Teacher must have Bible training. 
She should have a knowledge of the entire Bible in 
its broad outlines as well as being familiar with the 
message of the different books of the Bible and how 
they came to be written. She will be acquainted with 
the lives of the great biblical characters, especially that 
of the Master Teacher. She must understand the great 
fundamental doctrines of the Bible—God, man, sin, 
salvation, faith, morality, Christ, etc. And an ap- 
preciation of the missionary and social message of 
this Book of Books will be especially useful. 

Familiarity with the contents of the Bible is not 
enough for the well-trained teacher. Certain related 
subjects are necessary for the purpose of supplementing 
and illustrating the biblical material. Every teacher 
should know how our Bible has come down to us. 
Such information will help her settle many trouble- 
some questions. Church history is exceedingly valu- 
able. Knowing this subject, the teacher is equipped 
to correct many wrong conceptions about the rise of 


The Class Teacher 61 


denominations, about the extension of the Kingdom, 
about the many so-called “new” religions. Having 
this knowledge, she can present a victorious Christian- 
ity in a new light. 

Biblical geography is valuable in the presentation 
of many Bible lessons. The literature of a people can 
only be understood through a knowledge of its history 
and customs. These in turn depend largely upon the 
location and surface features of the country. If the 
Teacher knows the geography of Palestine and its 
neighboring Bible lands, she will find a new interest 
in teaching the old Bible stories. Very closely related 
to this subject is the study of Oriental manners and 
customs. 

The progressive Teacher will not be satisfied with 
her Bible training until she has studied the results of 
Christianity in the world. She will want to know 
about the development of Christian missions—she will 
want to have definite information about the place of 
her denomination in world evangelization. She will 
want to see how Christianity is proving its teachings 
through modern philanthropy and social service. 
These subjects are truly Bible subjects—and such as 
carry a Striking appeal to the thinking women of 
to-day. 

Knowing how to use the Bible is the most important 
part of the Bible training. The Teacher must be able 
to find the things she wants in the Bible when she 
wants them. She should be thoroughly familiar 
with the use of the Bible dictionary, the concordance, 
the commentary, the subject-index, and the cross 
references. 


62 The Women’s Class in Action 
The Science of Teaching 


Next in importance to Bible training is training in 
the principles of religious education. It is imperative 
that the Teacher understand the characteristics of the 
women whom she is teaching. She should know the 
laws of habit formation, the laws of memory training, 
the place of the imagination in life, something of adult 
emotions and prejudices, and the importance of sug- 
gestion in education. In short she should have had a 
good course in elementary educational psychology of 
the adult period. The literature on adult psychology 
is exceedingly meager; fortunately the Adult Special- 
ization Unit of the New Standard Teacher Training 
Course does contain a volume on the subject. 

Following psychology comes pedagogy—the art of 
using the knowledge of mental processes in developing 
class members. The Teacher should be familiar with 
the various methods of teaching and know the relative 
values of the different methods. She must realize that 
the student is a part of the teaching process. She 
should perfect herself in the use of questions so as to 
be able to encourage profitable discussion. She must, 
if her work is to be truly effective, have the “knack” 
of applying her lessons to life situations. The ability 
to make simple blackboard illustrations will also be of 
considerable help in teaching. 


The Teacher's Library 


The importance of the Teacher’s working library | 
cannot be overestimated. The teacher with vision will 
gradually build for herself such a library of the best 
books on the subjects of Bible study, psychology and 
pedagogy, class organization methods for older young 


The Class Teacher 63 


people and adults. The addition of just one book 
every three months will result in greatly added teach- 
ing efficiency. At the start the Teacher should have 
a good one-volume Bible Dictionary such as Hasting’s; 
a one-volume commentary—Dummelow’s for instance; 
a work on psychology such as James’ or Wood- 
worth’s; a text on pedagogy, two of the best being 
Bett’s, How to Teach Religion, and Tralle’s Dynamics 
of Teaching, and a book on adult methods, a valu- 
able one being Strickland and McGlothlin, Building 
the Bible Class. The following is suggestive of what 
the Teacher should plan ultimately to include in her 
library : 


The Bible, American Standard Revision. 

Harmony of the Gospels, Stevens & Burton. 
Bible Dictionary, Hastings, one volume. 

The One-Volume Bible Commentary, Dummelow, 
Comprehensive Concordance, Walker. 

(The above five books are virtually indispensable.) 
Building the Bible Class, Strickland & McGlothlin. 
The Adult Worker and Work, Barclay & Phifer. 
A Study of Adult Life, Soares. 

Psychology of Leadership, Tralle. 

Training in Christian Service, Cope. 
Psychology—Briefer Course—James, or 
Psychology—A Study of Mental Life, Woodworth. 
A Social Theory of Religious Education, Coe. 
Adult Religious Education, Barclay. 

How to Teach Religion, Betts. 

Dynamics of Teaching, Tralle. 

Psychology of Religion, Coe. 

Historical Geography of Bible Lands, Kent. 

Short History of the Christian Church, Moncrief. 
Outline of Missionary History, Mason, or 

The Missionary Enterprise, Bliss. 

The Religions of the World, Barton. 


64 The Women’s Class in Action 


The Bible in the Making, Smythe. 

Ancesiry of the English Bible, Price. 

The Monuments and the Old Testament, Price. 

The Story of the New Testament, Goodspeed. 

The Heart of the Old Testament, Sampey. 

The Book of Books, Crannell. 

Building a Community, Batten. 

Social Teachings of Jesus, Rauschenbusch. ~ 

Challenge of the City, Strong, or 

Challenge of the Country, Fiske. 

A good history of the Teacher’s church. 

A good book on the principles of the church to which 
the Teacher belongs. 


How to Become a Trained Teacher 


Make up your mind that you want to be trained— 
then that you wil] be trained. Education is one of the 
easiest things to obtain to-day—if you really want it. 

No teacher of a class of women should be satisfied 
with less than the complete New Standard Teacher 
Training Course as a minimum. Training classes in 
the local school or in community schools furnish the 
(Teacher who is ambitious to improve in God’s work a 
wonderful opportunity to secure this training. 

Correspondence study makes training possible for 
those who cannot attend training classes. Practically 
every denominational board now offers the complete 
New Standard Course by correspondence. Some— 
for example the Northern Baptists through their 
Correspondence Study Department—offer more ad- | 
vanced courses in Psychology, Pedagogy, Bible, Church 
History, etc., by the same plan. The small charge for 
text books is usually the only cost attached to such 
courses. The University of Chicago, through the 


The Class Teacher 65 


American Institute of Sacred Literature, offers some 
unexcelled courses in Bible study at a cost of only one 
dollar including the text book. More advanced courses 
in both Bible and general religious education are of- 
fered through the University’s regular Extension 
Division. Sunday School conventions and institutes 
offer other splendid opportunities for securing addi- 
tional training and inspiration. 

The successful Teacher must be always studying. 
Says Thwing: “The teacher who has ceased himself 
to be an active student has lost the secret of his great- 
est power.” So the successful Teacher of a class of 
women should be an earnest Bible student. By ob- 
servation she can also often learn as much from her 
pupils as from the lesson. Private reading and study 
will result in a marked improvement in a Teacher’s 
ability to present lesson truths. The public library 
should prove a never drying fountainhead of informa- 
tion. Workers’ magazines furnish much valuable ma- 
terial—the Teacher will subscribe to at least one so as 
to keep abreast with modern methods of class work. 
The International Journal of Religious Education, 
(Int. S. S. Council) is one of the best magazines of 
methods and inspiration now published. The leading 
denominational publishing houses also publish excel- 
lent magazines for adult workers. 

If the Teacher is to be successful in teaching women, 
she must fit herself by broad preparation, If she uses 
only the helps furnished by the school in the prepara- 
tion of her lesson, she is doomed to failure. To-day 
women are applying their brain power to the solution 
of big problems—they usually want to know many 
things that the lesson writers have not mentioned. 


66 The Women’s Class in Action 


The price of success in Bible teaching is the same as 
in other fields of endeavor—hard work. Yet after all 
there is a joy that comes only from the sense of having 
accomplished the difficult task—this joy is in store for 
the Teacher who makes the sacrifice of time, of pleas- 
ure, and of self to become thoroughly equipped. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Betts, “How to Teach Religion,” Chs. I, IT. 

Blick, “The Adult Department,” Chs. IX, X. 

Brumbaugh, ‘Making the Teacher.” 

McElfresh, “The Training of S. S. Officers and 
Teachers,” Chs. XIII, XV. 

Strickland & McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class.” 
Second Division, Ch. V. 

Tralle, “Psychology of Leadership.” 

Trumbull, “Teaching and Teachers.” 

Wells, ““The Ideal Adult Class,” Ch. L 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


1. Recall some teacher whose influence has affected 
your life. What has been the effect? To what, in the 
teacher, do you attribute this effect? 

2. Can you think of any Bible teachers who were ap- 
parently unsuccessful with one class, and yet succeeded 
with another class? How do you account for this? 

3. Just what does Thwing mean when he says: “The 
teacher who has ceased himself to be an active student 
has lost the secret of his greatest power?” 


CHAPTER V 


THE TEACHER AND THE CLASS 


Wyo it is true that the personal touch of the 
Teacher of the women’s Bible class will be felt 
among the membership, it is during the class session 
that her influence will be most far-reaching. If the 
class session is interesting, if it establishes vital life 
contacts with the members, if it inspires them to Chris- 
tian activity, then the Teacher is making a success of 
her job. There are five chief items every teacher 
must consider in order to vitalize the teaching hour: 
_ the study course, how to study her lesson, how to plan 
the lesson, how to present the lesson effectively, and 
how to secure the expression of the lesson in life 
situations. 


I. LESSON COURSE PERSPECTIVE 


Not only should the scope of each individual lesson 
be familiar to the Teacher before she attempts to teach, 
but the general outline of the entire course should be 
firmly fixed in her mind before she teaches the first 
lesson. It is desirable that the Teacher prepare her 
outline for the entire course, so that she will be placed 
in the most favorable position to handle discussion and 
to avoid those questions which anticipate later lessons. 


If the Teacher does not know what material is in- 
67 


68 The Women’s Class in Action 


cluded in later portions of the course many embarras- 
sing situations are likely to occur. 

This incident which occurred in a class of men may 
be cited as an example of how a course should not be 
planned. The series of lessons was on the Book of 
Daniel with the emphasis placed on the life and 
character of Daniel himself. The Teacher in charge 
of the class gave very interesting lectures on the first 
few chapters of the book, and announced that one week 
would be spent on each chapter of the book. When the 
apocalyptic portions of the book were reached the 
course was suddenly cut short with the explanation that 
all the visions taught about the same lesson. This 
Teacher had not even gone to the trouble of balancing 
in his own mind the relative teaching values of the sev- 
eral portions of Daniel, nor had he secured the perspec- 
tive which a reading of the entire book would have 
given him, 


II, STUDYING THE LESSON 


Obviously the Teacher should have general prepara- 
tion in the subject of the course she is teaching—but 
general preparation is inadequate for vital teaching. 
She cannot afford to go before her class and depend 
simply on background for a lesson—she must study 
carefully each individual lesson in the light of the 
needs of individual members of her class. 


When to Begin 


The writer once circulated a questionnaire among 
the teachers of his school and asked, among other 
things, when the teachers started to study the lesson. 


The Teacher and the Class 69 


Some started Sunday afternoon to prepare for the fol- 
lowing Sunday, some started during the week, a large 
number waited till Saturday, and one even admitted 
that she studied her lesson Sunday morning. It was 
more than a coincidence that those who started lesson 
preparation early in the week were the better teachers, 
and those who waited until Saturday were the least 
successful. Yes, the one who put off her preparation 
until Sunday morning was the poorest teacher of the 
lot. Starting early in the week is the safest policy— 
then you can really think through the lesson so that it 
becomes a part of you by the time of the lesson hour. 
Early preparation will also eliminate the Sunday morn- 
ing apologies, “I didn’t feel well last night,” or “Com- 
pany came... .” “Didn’t have much time to pre- 
eared 


The Bible First 


Among other things, that questionnaire revealed 
that with a large number of teachers preparation con- 
sisted solely of reading the lesson text-book or “quar- 
terly.” Some teachers did not even read the Scripture 
references; they depended upon their memories—and 
found them untrustworthy at the critical point. The 
author’s pastor says that even with his familiarity 
with the Scriptures, he would not dare prepare a ser- 
mon without re-reading the entire section of the Bible 
from which he takes his text. He confesses that when- 
ever he has attempted to rely entirely on his memory, 
that his sermon invariably “fell flat.” 

The first step in lesson study, then, is the reading of 
the Bible passage—not just the few verses that may 
be assigned, but the entire passage of which these 


70 The Women’s Class in Action 


verses are part, because a passage can be rightly inter- 
preted only when its relation to the surrounding Scrip- 
ture is known. This may mean the reading of a chap- 
ter or two, or, in the case of books like Ruth, Amos, 
Galatians, etc., the reading of the entire book. 

Bible thought does not divide naturally according 
to verses—and often not even by chapters. Don’t try 
to read a moral lesson into those poor, man-made 
verses. Rather look at the Bible passage as a whole 
and decide upon one or two dominating impressions. 
In reading the book of Amos, for example, the two 
outstanding impressions undoubtedly are the moral 
corruption of the day and Amos’ strong appeal for 
social justice. 

For her own study, the Teacher should by all means 
use the version which appeals to her—but she should 
not confine herself to that. The translation of thought 
from one language to another is fraught with many 
difficulties. Various translators bring out different 
shades of meaning. ‘The use of several translations is 
recommended—such as the King James Version for 
literary beauty, the Moffatt Version, the Twentieth 
Century New Testament, and New Testament trans- 
lations by Weymouth, Goodspeed and Montgomery. 

A reference Bible is a decided help in lesson study— 
helps the Teacher locate other Bible passages that bear 
on the lesson. If you have such an edition don’t fail 
to use the reference feature. 

Even in the so-called “modern language’”’ versions, 
the text is not always in the vernacular. The Teacher 
will find it profitable to rewrite the Scripture passage 
in everyday language—that’s a real test of her under- 
standing. 


The Teacher and the Class 71 


The Revised Version marginal references should also 
be noted. These references represent differences in 
reading by the translators. The advantage of the 
American Revision is that these differences are pre- 
sented impartially in the margin—and the marginal 
reading is frequently more satisfying than that of 
the body. 

As the Teacher reads let her note carefully any 
points on which she is not clear—the meaning of un- 
usual words or phrases, location of places, peculiar 
customs, etc. These should be looked up carefully 
later on in her period of preparation. 


Explanatory Material 


After the Teacher has mastered the lesson material 
to the extent of her own ability—and not until then— 
she may supplement her own material with that of 
outside authorities. The purpose of explanatory ma- 
terial should be to explain orientalisms, to give the 
geographical and historical setting of the lesson, to 
clarify passages that may not have been happily trans- 
lated from the Hebrew and Greek, to help her appre- 
ciate the literary qualities of the biblical material—in 
short to bring her the latest findings of Bible scholars. 
The type of material which purports to tell what every 
particular passage means is entirely out of place in 
the preparation of a vital lesson. The Bible may have 
meant a definite thing to the commentator, but it is 
presumptuous, to say the least, for him to say that it 
should have the same meaning for his readers. Vol- 
umes of sermons and expositions of the Scripture 
may be of help in giving new viewpoints, but the 
(Teacher should bear in mind that they represent one 


72 The Women’s Class in Action 


man’s views, and should weigh them in her own mind, 
and decide for herself what to accept and what to 
reject. 

A one-volume commentary, such as Dummelow’s, 
is to be preferred to more elaborate sets because it 
makes no attempt to enter into controversial discus- 
sions. Add to this a one-volume Bible dictionary, a 
biblical geography and a harmony of the Gospels, and 
the Teacher will have need for little additional com- 
mentative material. 


How Much to Use 


The school Superintendent suggested to a certain 
teacher the development of definite projects in connec- 
tion with her class teaching. “But we haven’t time,” 
she replied. “We can hardly get over the material in 
the lesson period.” 

The trouble with that Teacher was that she was 
trying to squeeze the lesson passage dry in forty 
minutes. Almost every lesson provided for adult 
classes contains much more material than can be prop- 
erly taught in one hour—most Bible passages contain 
the meat of dozens of lessons. It is the Teacher’s re- 
sponsibility to select from her material that especially 
applicable to the women of her class and discard the 
rest. It is much better to impress one thought deeply 
upon the lives of the members than to administer a 
light sprinkling of a multitude of points. 


III. THE LESSON PLAN 


After selecting the material to be taught, the Teacher 
must plan how she is to present it to her class. At this 


The Teacher and the Class 73 


point many teachers make the mistake of feeling that 
their study will enable them to present the lesson with- 
out further planning. It may enable them to fill forty 
minutes of time, but it isn’t always that the pupils 
are taught. Every lesson should be planned com- 
pletely, from the beginning to the application—leave 
nothing to chance if you would influence lives. 


Teaching Umt Furst 


Every lesson should aim to leave one definite thought 
—to make one definite impression on the class. Some 
teachers call this their teaching aim. Dr. Tralle, in his 
Dynamics of Teaching,’ speaks of it as the “Teach- 
ing unit,’ which he defines as “a single, dynamic, basic, 
spiritual truth, or principle or generalization, imbedded 
in lesson materials, that is interesting to the student, 
that assists him in meeting some life situation, and that 
develops in him attitudes and ideals as factors in life 
controls.” In other words, the Teacher should virtu- 
ally epitomize her entire lesson thought in one state- 
ment. That’s her teaching unit with which she will 
usually begin her lesson. The development of this 
unit by means of incidents, illustrations, charts, dis- 
cussion, etc., is her lesson. The teaching unit, con- 
tinues Dr. Tralle, “may be a definition, a didactic sum- 
mary, a precept or rule, a question or a story.” 

A year or so ago the International Lesson Com- 
mittee assigned one lesson on the book of Amos. 
There is fully enough material in Amos for six months’ 
study. Doubtless many teachers made a futile attempt 
to cover the entire book. The wise Teacher selected 


1George H. Doran Company, New York. The author heartily 
recommends this as an unusually suggestive text for teachers of adults. 


74. The Women’s Class in Action 


one unit and developed that. Here are five possible 
teaching units for that particular lesson :— 

1. Lofty religious and ethical thought is of grad- 
ual development. 

2. Righteous conduct is demanded by God of his 
followers. 

3. Luxurious, extravagant living tends to lower 
the religious tone of the community. 

4. The Christian will practice Christianity in his 
daily life, work, play, etc. 

5. The times demand Christian leaders to preach 
righteousness. 

Study these units in the light of Dr. Tralle’s defini- 
tion. Are they single, dynamic, spiritual truths? 
Are they interesting to adults? Which are especially 
interesting to women? Do they help in meeting some 
life situations? Do they help to develop the right life 
attitudes? In the same way, outline for each lesson 
you teach a definite teaching unit as the basis of your 
planning and teaching. 


Presentation of Lesson Material 


The method and order of the presentation of lesson 
materials depends upon the lesson, the teaching 
method and the class. In her teaching plan the Teacher 
should outline how she will unfold her lesson facts 
logically. She will decide at what point the Scripture 
passages will be read—whether at the beginning as a 
teaching unit or the basis for an inductive lesson, at 
various points to illustrate definite teachings, or at the 
end to summarize lesson materials. She will plan 
whether to introduce maps or charts. She should select 


The [ee hee and the Class 75 


her stories and illustrations and note where they are 
to be used. 


Generalization and A pplication 


After the lesson material is squarely before the class 
comes the period of development, ending with the ap- 
plication to the lives of the members. Modern life, 
history, various parts of the Bible, science and litera- 
ture will be brought in to reénforce the premise of the 
teaching unit. There may be also class discussion, 
ending with a summary of the points discussed. The 
application may or may not be direct—sometimes the 
suggestion of an indirect application is more effective 
than an expressed moral. 


Review 


If the class is following a connected series of les- 
sons, there should be a review at the close of the 
presentation of the lesson to show how the new lesson 
relates to the previous lessons. This review should 
not be a re-hash of material but rather a new view of 
the old material in the light of the new. 


Physical Factors in Lesson Planning 


In planning lessons in which class members have 
part, the Teacher must know her members. In small 
classes she will find it comparatively easy to know all 
about all the members. In larger classes much in- 
formation will be secured indirectly. The Teacher 
will find it convenient to list all such information on 
individual cards which she keeps for reference. Data 
about a woman’s education, occupation, likes and dis- 
likes, hobbies, willingness to serve in class work and 


76 The Women’s Class in Action 


a record of how she has already served is invaluable 
to the Teacher who really desires to enlist the members 
in service. 


Write Out Your Plan 


Write down your teaching unit. Write down the 
questions to be used. Write down your lesson points, 
your stories and illustrations, your application. A writ- 
ten plan fixes the material in mind, makes possible a 
vital lesson presentation, assures the inclusion of all 
important items, and helps keep the Teacher to the sub- 
ject and within the time limit. 

It will be helpful to class members if the Teacher 
puts a condensed copy of her outline on the blackboard, 
or better still provides typewritten outlines for dis- 
tribution. A number of classes regularly publish the 


lesson outlines in the class bulletin. Not only do such — 


lesson synopses aid in giving a more connected im- 
pression of the lesson, but make it easier for those 
who sometimes keep lesson notes. 


IV. METHODS OF TEACHING 


The Lecture Method and Its Perils 


The lecture method is probably the most used and 
the least effective method of teaching. It affords little 
opportunity for expressional activities on the part of 
the pupil, nor is there much chance for the Teacher 
to test the pupils’ appreciation of the teaching. To 
some the lecture method means simply a second morn- 
ing sermon, and the regular preaching service suffers. 
The two services should supplement rather than sup- 
plant one another. 


EE = a = ins * 


The Teacher and the Class = 77 


The lecture method is the only practical method in 
classes of unusually large membership. A teacher can 
handle a larger membership by lectures than in any 
other way. We probably must provide some lecture 
classes for those who will not study, but who will 
listen to a weekly talk by a good speaker. It is true 
that more material can be presented in shorter time 
than by any other method, but what value is that when 
members neither take notes nor study? 

Class discussion at the close of the lecture is often 
a means of relieving the monotony of pure lectures. 

Because the lecture method has been most largely 
used in adult classes is no reason why it should be con- 
tinued week after week. There are many women who 
do real studying in their literary and civic clubs. They 
will give time to real study of the Bible if vital courses 
are offered by competent teachers. For teaching efh- 
ciency it would undoubtedly be better for some of 
our enormously large classes to break up into smaller 
study groups with courses of study planned to meet 
the needs of the separate units. It would still be pos- 
sible to preserve the spirit and enthusiasm of numbers 
in department worship services and social meetings. 


The Project-Problem Method 


“Why is it so many adults do not attend a church?” 
was a question asked by the writer of his community 
training class in Adult Leadership. That question be- 
came a problem in the minds of those in the class. A 
series of simple questionnaires was evolved and copies 
given to the members for the purpose of securing some 
definite information on the various phases of the sub- 


78 The Women’s Class in Action 


ject from their friends. ‘This effort to solve that par- 
ticular problem was a project. 

In this case the problem and the project were closely 
related. In other cases a problem may not call for a 
project and, vice versa, a project need not necessarily 
involve a problem. The attempt to discover the pur- 
pose of John in writing the Fourth Gospel is pri- 
marily the attempted solution of a problem. On the 
other hand the preparation of a harmony of the Gospels 
or the making of a social survey is more strictly a 
project. <A project, says Stevenson, is “a problematic 
act carried to its completion in its natural setting.” 
The more nearly natural the setting, the greater interest 
will be aroused in the project. 

The chief advantage of the project-problem method 
of teaching lies in the fact that the student has a 
definite purpose to motivate her in her class study—a 
practical aim, which, when achieved, gives her a feel- 
ing of genuine satisfaction. This is not a method 
for the lazy, but it is a method for those who want 
to substitute an efficient type of procedure for the 
old verse-by-verse, sermonette method or the lecture 
method. When this method is used, the Teacher re- 
cedes to the background and the pupil becomes more 
active, 

Social service courses lend themselves admirably to 
the project-problem method. Investigations may be 
made, charts prepared, and action taken to remedy evil 
conditions. In studying the social teachings of Jesus. 
or the prophets or Paul an interesting project is to 
have each member prepare an underscored Bible or 
Testament, underlining in red all passages carrying a 
social import. If underscored in red and the teach- 


The Teacher and the Class 79 


ing noted in the margin, a very graphic index of 
Jesus’ teachings about money, the family, divorce, etc., 
will be the result. More nearly complete notes may 
be kept if an interleaved Testament is used. 

Classes studying the life of Christ may make their 
own harmonies by pasting the Scripture from two 
cheap Testaments in parallel columns in a blank note- 
book. Such harmonies can also be made of the life 
of Paul by pasting the Pauline Epistles in their proper 
historical sequence between events in the book of Acts; 
of the Old Testament Prophetical Literature, placing it 
correctly in relation to events given in the books of 
Kings and Chronicles. So too, an historical New 
Testament may be made by placing the books in 
the accepted order of writing. A student’s “Life of 
Christ,” or “Life of Paul,” etc., are also valuable teach- 
ing projects. 

Certain serious-minded women in every class may be 
induced to keep notebooks of the various courses, If 
some outside reading and studying is done, the note- 
book becomes a valuable possession. The writing of 
facts in a notebook tends to fix those facts more firmly 
in mind. 

Debates can always be made interesting projects. 
Most study courses will permit of a debate somewhere 
in the course. A class studying The Lure of Africa 
devoted one entire meeting to a debate, “Resolved that 
civilization has been a net gain for Africa and the 
Africans,” covering the matter of a whole chapter in 
that way. Debates represent one of the best methods 
of class expression. They should not be too long. If 
properly managed and prepared they stimulate interest 
and healthy enthusiasm. 


80 The Women’s Class 1n Action 


Churches are turning more and more to the use of 
dramatics in their teaching and worship. The prepara- 
tion of a pageant based on a series of lessons, or the 
dramatization of some of the beautiful Bible stories, 
is both good teaching and an excellent way of carrying 
the work of the class to the entire church constituency. 

In the last analysis the purpose of all class teaching 
is that Christian activity may result. Consequently 
service activities are, in the highest sense, teaching 
projects. The class not engaged in definite service is 
missing one of its greatest teaching opportunities. 


The Topical Method 


Very closely allied to the project-problem method 
of teaching is the topical method. In this plan the 
Teacher assigns to selected members topics to be in- 
vestigated and reported on one or two weeks later in 
class session. The Teacher’s part in this case is to 
gather the thoughts that have been presented and to 
give a résumé of the main points of the lesson. A 
drawback in this method is that speakers often talk 
too long. Many women are inexperienced in planning 
talks ; they don’t know how to select just the vital parts 
and to discard the less important. Hence the assign- 
ments should be definite, and a time limit should be 
set for presentation. The topical method may be used 
with almost every course. It is particularly suitable 
in connection with courses in social service, missions, 


church history, comparative religion, but is suitable for - 


supplementing all lessons. 
A class studying “The Challenge of the City” as a 
text assigned topics for investigation as follows: 


CO ——EE—— 


The Teacher and the Class 81 


9? 66. 


“liquor problem,” “the tenement evil,” “child labor,” 
“industrial conditions,” “the juvenile court,’ all of 
its own city. One class studying comparative religions 
used such topics as the “Temples of India, Japan, etc.,”’ 
“Prayer Wheels,” and others similar. A live teacher 
will be able to find more topics on the subject studied 
than can be used. 


Question and Answer Method 


Unless the class is actually studying, this method is 
not suited to adults. Questions will of course be used 
in connection with the discussion method of teaching 
and in reviews. For this purpose a knowledge of how 
to question is essential. As a rule questions should be 
not simply memory drill questions, but should stimu- 
late thought. They should not suggest the answer, nor 
should they be so involved as to leave an obscure mean- 
ing. The Teacher should write out in advance the 
questions which she intends to use. 


Socialized Recitations 


As the name implies, a socialized recitation is one 
in which pupils and teacher work together to accom- 
plish a definite purpose. Adults have much in the way 
of thought and experience that they can contribute to 
each other. Any cooperative method represents the 
exercise of one of the strongest Christian virtues—the 
practice of working and living together. 

A project may be a socialized lesson. For example, 
as all the members of the class joined in gathering 
material to discover why adults do not go to church, 
they were engaged in the building of a socialized recita- 


82 The Women’s Class in Action 


tion. Each member was making a definite contribution 
to that particular lesson. The lesson was a combina- 
tion of the work of all the members. 

The study lesson is another form of the socialized 
recitation in which the Teacher and pupils study the 
lesson together, using Bible dictionaries, commentaries 
and reference books in class. It is suited to classes 
for whom the material is a little too advanced to be 
studied to advantage alone. It is a good method 
through which to train a class how to study and how 
to use the Bible. Most classes would get much good 
from one or two real study courses each year. Lesson 
preparation and a lesson plan are vitally important 
when the study method is used. 

The discussion method is another socialized form. 
It is productive of excellent results, and is a method in 
which all members may have a part. Subjects should 
be announced in advance so that the members may have 
time to think about them. Interest will be greater if 
questions are given to several women during the week 
for purpose of opening the discussion. Often the 
Teacher may outline the subject briefly at the beginning 
of the lesson, and then by skillful questioning develop 
the discussion. Careful preparation is needed in this 
method. Many subjects of Christian living may be 
developed in class, as most women think easily along 
those lines. Other topics will call for some advance 
preparation on the part of the members. In all dis- 
cussions care must be taken not to accept persona! 
opinions as moral laws. Let the final answer to all 
questions come from the principles of conduct con- 
tained in the Word of God. 


The Teacher and the Class 83 


Stories 


Stories appeal to all ages and should have their 
place in adult class teaching. The use of stories is 
one of the finest ways of teaching for the appreciation 
of a Christian character. <A story, well told, holds 
the interest when lectures put the class members to 
sleep. If you cannot tell the story well, or cannot 
get a good story-teller, though, better leave the story 
untold. Story-telling is an art, but one so valuable to 
a teacher as to warrant a thorough study of its tech- 
nique. 

Stories for use in the women’s class may be Bible 
stories, for the Bible contains some of the world’s 
finest stories—The Courtship of Jacob, The Conquests 
of Deborah, The Early Training of Moses, Jephtha’s 
Daughter, The Story of Ruth, The Courage of Esther, 
The Woman at the Well of Samaria, Mary and Martha, 
The Story of Dorcas, etc. 

The literature of all nations is rich in stories with 
teaching merit, e.g., Van Dyke’s, The Source, The 
Other Wise Man, The Lost Word, The First Christ- 
mas Tree; Maeterlinck’s, The Blue Bird, etc. 

The story may be virtually the whole lesson, or it 
may be simply an incidental part used to illustrate 
definite points. The Teacher should plan to introduce 
a number of good illustrations into each lesson—they 
are remarkable interest sustainers, It is a good idea 
for the Teacher to keep either a scrapbook or a card 
index file with anecdotes and other illustrations readily 
accessible, filed so that one may be found to illustrate 
any subject. The Teacher should be on the lookout 
in her reading, in her conversation, at lectures, in her 


84. The Women’s Class in Action 


travels, in current events and in nature, for good 
illustrations. 

An anecdote should never be told for its own sake. 
The Teacher is conducting a Bible Class, with the aim 
of inculcating lasting principles of conduct—not a 
vaudeville show. If an anecdote which impresses a 
desired truth results in incidental smiles, well and good 
—if there is laughter without a definite, desirable im- 
pression, the anecdote is out of place. 


Pictures 

Too often the church limits its use of pictures to 
the children’s division. ‘This is a mistake, because 
pictures are high in teaching value. Eye impressions 
are twenty-two times as strong as ear impressions. 
Kighty-five per cent of our knowledge comes through 
the eye. Properly interpreted, the old masterpieces 
enable the teacher to reach the mind of her members 
through that eye gate. So, too, do photographs of 
scenes on mission fields, scenes in Bible lands, maps, 
charts, and diagrams. If possible, the class, or at least 
the church, should own a stereopticon or a moving pic- 
ture machine for the more effective use of picture 
material in teaching. Slides and films on various sub- 
jects related to the curriculum of religious education 
may be secured from denominational boards, public 
libraries, schools, colleges and from railroad and steam- 
ship companies. 


Special Speakers 


Very often a class develops a mania for special 
speakers. Great effort is made to stir up enthusiasm 
for the outside speaker, and but little effort is put 


The Teacher and the Class 85 


forth between times in behalf of the regular, and 
probably harder working, Teacher. Frequently these 
speakers are introduced in the midst of a course, break- 
ing the connection between the lessons. 

Special inspirational speakers should be used as a 
means, not an end. It is often possible to secure a 
specialist on a subject which the class is studying. If 
so, the class should, by all means, invite him to discuss 
some lesson of the course. On special days, such as 
Rally Day, an inspirational speaker may be desirable. 
Some classes plan special short summer courses with 
different speakers of note for each Sunday—a splendid 
way of stimulating attendance during the vacation 
period. 


V. CLASS EXPRESSION, 


Education is not simply a “pouring in” process. 
There must also be a certain amount of “pouring out” 
on the part of the student. In other words, teaching 
is incomplete unless opportunity for expression is given. 


Expression Through Teaching Methods 


The use of the project and socialized types of lessons 
automatically give the students a certain amount of 
expressional opportunity. In developing projects or 
presenting assigned topics the pupils not only give in- 
formation, but they learn much more themselves, The 
good Teacher always learns more than her hearers, 
because of the preparation which she gives to her sub- 
ject. By the use of the socialized methods, every mem- 
ber is in effect a teacher. Any class using these 
methods consistently will find its members increasing 


86 The Women’s Class in Action 


in biblical knowledge and in class interest. Give the 
more timid members simple assignments, such as the 
reading of the Scripture lesson, until the timidity wears 
off. 


Special Talks 


Some classes have used certain interest-creating talks 
by members for just five minutes every Sunday morn- 
ing. One class had, for a number of weeks, a series 
of “Current Topic Talks” by different women each 
week, The speaker chose some topic of current interest 
and gave a brief talk, bringing out the lesson she saw 
in it. Another class appoints one of its members to 
bring a five-minute missionary lesson, dealing either 
with the missionary application of the morning’s topic, 
or with work in some of the fields supported by the 
church, 


Service 


At the conclusion of a course in Christian American- 
ization a member of the class asked, ‘Now that our 
study is over, what are we going to do about it?” 
In that question she spoke volumes of pedagogy. If 
the teaching doesn’t result in definite service, that teach- 
ing is a failure. The story is told of a storekeeper who 
attended a preaching service. Being asked later what 
the theme of the sermon was, he replied, “I don’t know 
nothing about themes, but I do know that I went back 
to the store and burned up my short measures.” The 
opportunity for service is practically unlimited. The 
chief task of the women’s Bible class is not to teach 
facts but to train lives—to transform precepts into 
practice. 


The Teacher and the Class 87 
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


1. Discuss the advantages of early lesson preparation. 

2. Do you agree with the author’s contention that the 
reading of the Bible passage should be the first step in 
the lesson preparation? Why? 

3. What are some of the advantages of a written les- 
son plan? 

4. Which method of teaching do you consider best 
suited for women’s classes? Why? Which methods are 
you using most now? 

5. Is it necessary that one method be used for any one 
lesson to the exclusion of all others? 

6. Outline a series of class projects for a year’s lessons 
for your class. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Bailey, “The Bible in Art.” 

Barclay, “Adult Religious Education.” 

Betts, “How to Teach Religion.” 

Betts, ““The Recitation.” 

Blick, “The Adult Department,” Ch. XI. 

Bovard, “Adults in the Sunday School,” Chs. V, VII. 

Branom, “The Project Method in Education.” 

Coe, “‘A Social Theory of Religious Education.” 

Coe, “The Religion of a Mature Mind.” 

Grant, “Acquiring Skill in Teaching.” 

Gregory, “The Seven Laws of Teaching.” 

Horne, “Jesus, the Master Teacher.” 

Horne, “Leadership of Bible Study Groups.” 

Hunt, “Self-Help in Teaching.” 

James, “Psychology’—Briefer Course. 

Miller, “Directing Study.” 

Miinsterberg, “Psychology and the Teacher.” 

Richardson, “The Religious Education of Adolescents,” 
Ch. XI. (For Teachers of Young Women.) 

Stevenson, “The Project Method of Teaching.” 

Tralle, “Dynamics of Teaching.” 

Tralle, “Story Telling Lessons.” 

Wells, “The Ideal Adult Class,” Chs. II, IV. 


CHAPTER VI 


PRINCIPLES OF STUDY COURSE 
SELECTION 


I. THE NEED OF ELECTIVE COURSES 


| Chapter I it was shown that not only do the 
interests of women differ in different periods, but 
that there are varieties of interests even in the same 
age group. It is easily seen that no one course of 
study can possibly be the best for all women’s classes 
in all parts of the country at the same time. To meet 
the varied needs of the women in the church school, 
the privilege of selection of study courses should be 
granted to adult classes. 

In selecting study courses the class should not for- 
get that it is organized primarily for the study of the 
Bible and the application of Bible teachings to the 
lives of its members. That “the need of the pupil is 
the law of the school,” should be just as true of the 
adult membership as in the children’s division. Of 
course, the women’s class will not study socialism, 
sociology, history or literature, except as it studies 
these subjects as a development of fundamental ethical, 
social and religious thought. While all class study 
should keep to the Bible, that does not mean that the 
Bible will be studied for its own sake. Dr. Samuel 
Zane Batten strikes a keynote when he says, “A Bible 
class that begins and ends its work with a study of 


the Scriptures is wasting its time and is not honoring 
88 


Study Course Principles 89 


the King.” * It is only as the teachings of the marvel- 
ous Book of Books are honestly and wholeheartedly 
applied to the lives of men and women that its po- 
tentiality becomes a living, pulsating force for right- 
eousness. It is this force which the women’s class 
must seek to develop. 


II. DETERMINING FACTORS 


Class Membership 


No two classes will require nor want the same 
courses of study. The ages of the members will de- 
termine to some extent the courses to be studied, as 
will previous training, early home influences and pres- 
ent environment. Many groups of women give but 
little time to lesson preparation; consequently the 
courses for them should be to the point with a prac- 
tical application to their own lives, so that all attend- 
ants will find the sessions helpful, thought-provoking 
and action-stimulating. On the other hand, many 
women give considerable time to advance lesson prepa- 
ration—for such groups more thorough, intensive work 
may be planned. 


The Class Teacher 


The study course will be determined in part by the 
Teacher. If she is untrained (she need not remain 
so), she will be unable to teach many courses that a 
trained teacher would. No Teacher without a knowl- 
edge of social organization or social ideals should 
attempt to teach such a book as Matthews’ Social 
Teachings of Jesus. Neither should a Teacher who 

1“Training for Citizenship in the Kingdom of God,’ Batten. 


90 The Women’s Class in Action 


knows nothing of the facts of general secular history 
try to teach a course on church history. The study 
course will vary from simple to complex as the Teacher 
advances in knowledge, and as the class members 
progress in their ability to grasp the subject matter. 


Class Aim 


The course will also be determined by the class aim. 
A class may organize for the study of missions—the 
bulk of the courses will then be missionary in their 
appeal; it may organize to study the social message 
of the Bible, in which case most of the courses will 
emphasize that aim; again its aim may be to make bet- 
ter parents and better children—it will then study one 
or more strong child-study courses annually. There 
is no reason why in every Sunday School there should 
not be a number of special groups following courses 
along the lines of their several special interests. Some 
classes have conducted supplementary week-day classes 
with good effect. 


Balance 


As a general thing, the size of the class and the 
teachers available will make it difficult to conduct many 
separate classes at one time. In order best to meet 
the needs of the entire class constituency, the need of a 
balanced course is made evident—even if one’s interest 
does lie largely in one direction it is not advisable to 
confine study simply to the one subject. Just as one 
will not thrive on chocolate pie alone, but needs a bal- 
anced diet to nourish every part of the physical body, 
so is there need of balanced mental and spiritual de- 
velopment. ‘The course of study should then include 


Study Course Principles 91 


the elements needed to bring about the complete spirit- 
ual growth of the class membership. How a balanced 
course is built will be shown later. 


III. WHO SHOULD SELECT THE COURSE? 


If the church or the church school has a committee 
on education, the study course selected by the class 
should be submitted to it or to the superintendent of 
education. Usually if the Teacher is competent, the 
course is selected by her and submitted to the class for 
approval. The wisdom of this is easily seen; the 
Teacher is more likely to know the needs of the mem- 
bers than any one else. In some cases she forms the 
course in connection with a class committee appointed 
for the purpose. In other cases, a list of courses, 
grouped according to kind, is submitted, from which 
the members select their preferences. From this selec- 
tion, the Teacher selects the course, trying to suit the 
greatest number. 

The selected courses should always be submitted for 
approval to the head of the school, who is delegated 
with the duty of properly correlating the school cur- 
riculum. ‘This may be the superintendent, the director 
of religious education, or the educational committee. 
The class may well take these leaders into its con- 
fidence during the entire process of determining the 
subjects that are to be included in its year’s study. 


IV. BALANCING THE COURSE 


A balanced curriculum will include five kinds of 
courses : 


92 The Women’s Class in Action 


Bible Outline Course—in which some one book or 
some portion of the Bible is studied so as to get a 
bird’s-eye view, as it were—a connected outline of its 
structure and purpose. The study of the Old Testa- 
ment period in fifteen weeks is such a course; 

Intensive Bible Study Course—in which some por- 
tion of the Bible is studied intensively, so as to get all 
the details. Studies in the Parables of Jesus is a good 
example; 

Christian Life Course—the use of the Bible teach- 
ings in actual life, eg., Christianity and Amusements, © 
Religious Education in the Family, Mothers’ Prob- 
lems, A Young Woman’s Problems; here belong also 
doctrinal and devotional courses; 

Church History Courses—such as How We Got 
Our Bible, History of Religion, or History of the 
Christian Church; 

Modern Christian W ork—which includes courses on 
missions and social service. 


V. THE CURRICULUM UNIT 


The course of study should be outlined for an entire 
year. That is the only way actually to maintain bal- 
ance. It takes real foresight and initiative to prepare 
courses. It takes the same qualities to maintain them. 
A positive way to lose interest in a course is to enter 
into it only half prepared. The illustration of the 
Teacher and the Book of Daniel in Chapter V is an 
instance of how not to doit. Another teacher decided 
that a certain course had ceased to interest the class, 
and asked, “Well, what shall we study next?” The . 
following Sunday a new course selected by one of the 


Study Course Principles 93 


members was begun—this also failed to hold interest 
after several weeks. 


VI. VARIATION OF APPROACH 


In selecting courses it should be borne in mind that 
the same subject matter may usually be treated in 
several ways. Take the Life of Christ for instance. 
One class has studied an outline of the Life accord- 
ing to the synoptic Gospels, the course lasting only 
nine weeks. From it the class obtained a picture of 
the connected Life more vivid than any they had re- 
ceived before. Later they studied the Life intensively 
for nine months. At another time a course on the 
teachings of Christ’s parables as recorded by Luke was 
taken. A course on The Message of Jesus to Our 
Modern Life is always interesting to adults. So too, 
courses can be given on The Miracles of Jesus, The 
Ethical Teachings of Jesus, the study of the pictures 
of Christ given by each of the four gospels, each taken 
separately, and a study of How Jesus Met Life Prob- 
lems. The possibilities are really inexhaustible. 


VII. TEACHERLESS COURSES 


The class may occasionally desire to vary its lesson 
program by including a course, conducted not by the 
Teacher but by the members—a course planned by the 
Teacher perhaps, but of such a nature that a member 
could readily lead the discussion. This is sometimes 
done in order to carry the class through the summer 
vacation period, during the absence of the regular 
Teacher. A mission course might easily be planned 


94. The Women’s Class in Action 


with the view of enlisting members as leaders for the 
various lessons. The Challenge of the City or the 
Challenge of the Country might be handled in that 
way, with the application made to the community in 
which the class is situated. If the class contains a 
child welfare worker, recreation director or general 
social worker, she will often be able to stimulate greater 
interest in a social service course than the Teacher her- 
self. The Teacher who is always looking for best 
results will not overlook such opportunities to utilize 
the class members. 

Mrs. Sudlow describes in THE SuNnpay ScHOOL 
WorkKER a class composed largely of mothers, whose 
members are virtually the teachers, This class elects 
annually a leader who takes the place of the Teacher, 
and a critic. The class leader prepares questions for 
class discussion, gives the introductory talk of the 
lesson period and leads the discussion. Questions are 
announced a week in advance to permit preliminary 
thought on the part of the members. Any woman in 
the class is at liberty to submit questions for discussion. 
Each week the critic gives, as a review, a résumé of 
the talks or discussions of the previous Sunday. A 
wide range of topics of special interest to class members 
is covered in this way. While this method has proved 
quite successful in this particular class and will per- 
haps occasionally be enjoyed by any class for a short 
period, the wisdom of following such procedure perma- 
nently is to be questioned—every class needs systematic 
Bible study as well as practical Christian life dis- 
cussions. Classes temporarily without teachers will 
find in this plan an acceptable means of carrying on 


Study Course Principles 95 


the class teaching until a permanent Teacher is secured 
or during vacation seasons. 

Classes without teachers at any period may well 
consider Dr. Irving Wood’s suggestion of Bible read- 
ing courses.” If the class has no members capable of 
leading lesson study, the reading plan will be par- 
ticularly helpful, although every class would find a 
course of Bible reading refreshing. Adult class 
teachers are often prone to talk much about the Bible, 
without leading their students actually to read it for 
themselves. A recently converted Chinese gentleman 
one night in prayer meeting said to his pastor, “We 
have heard you tell us about what the Bible tells about 
these subjects, and you have done it well; but wouldn’t 
it be a good idea for us to see what Jesus himself has 
to tell us?” The pastor saw the point. Why should 
classes sit idly gossiping if the Teacher has been un- 
avoidably forced to absent herself from a session? A 
profitable hour could be spent reading Amos, or Hosea 
or Esther, or Ruth, or Ephesians. And for a longer 
period the class might read the Gospels, Genesis, Acts, 
Corinthians, etc. A new sense of the unity of many 
of the sacred books would dawn upon our adult class 
members following such a course. 

Some classes, as mentioned in Chapter IV, provide 
courses for a limited period, in which a different visit- 
ing speaker discusses one phase of the subject each 
week, Such a course as A Young Woman’s Problems 
and many social service courses can be conducted in 
that way. Those in charge should be careful to have 
the entire program fully planned, so that due announce- 


1 Wood, “Adult Class Study.” 


96 The Women’s Class in Action 


ment of the complete course may be made at the very 
beginning. Such announcement, printed on cards or 
published in the newspapers, with the dates, names of 
the topics and the speakers who are to discuss them, 
is excellent advertising material to attract new mem- 
bers. 

These special features should be used judiciously. 
Only the largest classes could possibly keep up a steady 
pace of special features for protracted periods, The 
most desirable enthusiasm is that which is permanent 
—the enthusiasm of consistent, consecutive effort by 
the class as it stands back of the regular Teacher. A 
religious “jag’’ has little permanent value. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Batten, “Social Studies for Adult Leaflets from 
Classes.” Social Service 


Department, 


Hus Mp . . { American Bap- 
Batten, “Training for Citizenship in | 4jo4 Publication 


the Kingdom of God.” Society. 


Blick, “The Adult Department,” Ch. VI. 

Bovard, “Adults in the Sunday School,” Ch. VI. 

Pease, ‘An Outline of a Bible School Curriculum,” Chs. 
PX EL 

Strickland and McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class,” 
Second Division, Ch. VII. 


_QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


1. An adult worker, out of sympathy with elective 
courses, once said: “Social problems, child welfare, 
church history, missions, etc., can be studied incidentally 
in connection with the regular International Lessons.” ~ 
Discuss the soundness of his position. 


Study Course Principles 97 


2. Show how class membership enters into the selec- 
tion of study courses. 

3. Can you suggest any omitted elements from those 
mentioned as being necessary for a balanced course? 
Would you omit any that are mentioned? 

4. Why should school authorities be consulted in build- 
ing the study course? 

5. Do you consider courses extending over long periods 
of time, say six months or a year, as satisfactory from 
the standpoint of member interest as courses continuing 
only six weeks to three months? Why? 

6. Illustrate how the same biblical material may be 
approached from various teaching angles. 


Cuapter VII 
BUILDING THE STUDY COURSE 


I. AVAILABLE STUDY COURSE MATERIAL 


International Umform Lessons 


The outlines of many of the new International Uni- 
form Lessons are excellent for use in women’s classes. 
Such courses as Studies in the Christian Life, Some 
Great Teachings of the Bible, Great Men and Women 
of the Bible, The Missionary Message of the Bible, 
Life and Letters of Peter, Life and Letters of Paul, 
Life of Christ (the courses in the individual gospels 
as well as the synoptic series of lessons) might well be 
put into permanent form by the denominational pub- 
lishing houses for use of adult classes desiring to 
follow them at times other than those specified by the 
International Lesson Committee. 

One of the chief weaknesses of the International 
Lesson system, as applied to adults, is its basic theory 
that the adult class should study the lessons offered at 
precisely the time they are offered, when, as a matter 
of fact, there are times when the current International 
Lessons are not the best for the class to use. It should 
be remembered, always, that the curriculum of the 
women’s class is built to satisfy the needs of the women 
in the class, rather than the class being organized for a 
certain curriculum. Consider, for example, the case of — 


a class newly recruited or with a recently enlarged 
98 


Building the Study Course 99 


membership, many of the members of which may not 
have been in Sunday School for years. How utterly 
absurd to insist that these new members start studying 
lessons in the midst of the books of Kings! Why 
not, instead, start a rapid survey course of the Old 
Testament Period, or a series of lessons on the Life 
of Christ? Or consider again a class of young mothers 
whose chief interests, of the moment, are their babies. 
Why should it be insisted that they study the Pauline 
Epistles when a course in Parent Problems would be 
infinitely more helpful to them—and more resultful 
in ultimately producing a new generation of Christian 
men and women! 

It necessarily follows, in the attempt of the Inter- 
national Lesson Committee to adapt the lesson material 
to all ages from six to sixty (now from twelve to 
sixty), that much of the Bible of special interest and 
value to adults is omitted entirely. The wonderful 
messages of the prophets, the marvelous poetry of the 
Psalms, the majestic epic Job, the philosophy of Ec- 
clesiastes, the striking figures of Revelation—all are 
either given just scant notice or not even considered 
in the International Lesson scheme. Moreover, these 
lessons make no provision for occasional rapid bird’s- 
eye courses so necessary to an understanding of biblical 
events in relationship to each other. Such vital sub- 
jects as church history, missionary activities of the 
denominations, parent training, denominational prin- 
ciples, are given no definite consideration, except as 
editors or teachers “drag’’ them in incidentally. 

It is sometimes argued that a umform lesson being 
studied by all classes throughout the land makes it 
possible for a traveler to “drop in” on any class any- 


100 The Women’s Class in Action 


where, and participate in the study of lessons which 
are familiar to her. A little study of records will show 
that the number of transients attending most classes 1s 
very low in proportion to the attendance of regular 
members, and of these few, a very small percentage 
would really know what the lesson at home was. Why, 
then, sacrifice a suitable curriculum for the sake of a 
very few occasional visitors? If the number of tran- 
sient visitors should be sufficiently large in any one 
church, a special “pick-up” class might be formed in 
which the regular uniform lessons would be studied. 

It is not in the mind of the author to advise against 
the use of the International Uniform Lessons. When- 
ever a particular International course is suited to the 
needs of any particular class of women, it should be 
used by all means, Helps are abundant and the treat- 
ment of the lessons is usually practical and scholarly. 
It is, however, the purpose of the author to preach to 
adult classes a freedom from slavery to any one series 
of lessons. The class that hopes to serve its members 
most adequately will not hesitate to select the courses 
best fitted to the needs of those members. Getting 
away from the International Uniform Lessons does not 
mean that the class is getting away from Bible study. 
The biblical curriculum material for adult classes is 
now so extensive and so varied that there is no reason 
for any class not finding courses of special appeal to 
the women in the organization. 


International Graded Series 


Some splendid courses are included among the 
Senior and Young People’s graded lessons which are - 
quite suitable for use in adult classes. Excellent helps 


Building the Study Course 101 


are issued by all the denominational publishing houses. 
‘There are surveys of the Old and New Testament, 
historically developed; a very complete social service 
course; studies in Christian service; the study of the 
books of James and Ruth; Old Testament literary 
masterpieces; a study of twelve biblical biographies 
with the emphasis on the social development of biblical 
history. It would be well for every Teacher to have 
the prospectuses of these courses, which are furnished 
free by the publishing houses. 

The International Lesson Committee has prepared 
outlines of several elective courses for Adult Classes, 
some of which have been published by the Westminster 
Press of Philadelphia. A complete set of outlines from 
which any capable Teacher may easily formulate a 
course may be secured from the International Council 
(address in Appendix). Outlines are available on 
Amos, one quarter; Galatians, one quarter; Chris- 
tianity in Action, four one-quarter courses; Hints on 
Child Training, three months; The Liquor Evil, three 
months, etc. 


University of Chicago Courses 


The University of Chicago publishes in the Con- 
structive Series some very good courses for women. 
Included are The Gospel of Mark; Life of Christ, 
Hebrew Prophets, History of the Christian Church, 
Social Duties from a Christian Point of View, etc. 
Under the direction of the American Institute of 
Sacred Literature are published some of the finest 
available inductive courses on the Bible, all developed 
historically and with the aid of no book other than the 
Bible itself. Courses available include Old Testament, 


102. The Women’s Class 1n Action 


New Testament, The Psalms, The Wisdom Litera- 
ture, The Old Testament Prophets, The Book of Reve- 
lation, The Life of Christ, The Gospel of John, The 
Life and Teachings of Paul, The Social and Ethical 
Teachings of Jesus, Realities of the Christian Religion, 
The Truth About the Bible, and others. The Teacher 
should secure complete lists of titles of both these 
series from the University of Chicago Press. 


The Woman's Press 


The Woman’s Press is bringing out some choice 
material especially planned for the use of women, The 
application of Christianity to life receives the chief 
emphasis in the growing list of publications. A num- 
ber of courses of this publisher are listed among the 
suggested courses which follow. 


Association Press 


The Y.M.C.A. courses, although projected for 
classes of men, contain much material equally suited to 
women’s classes. Courses are prepared for beginners 
in Bible Study as well as for those who can assimilate 
the meat of the Scripture. Many of the courses pro- 
vide for daily readings of the Bible. There are in- 
cluded some very fine studies of sections of the Bible, 
but the Y.M.C.A. courses emphasize Christian life and 
the devotional element. 


Scribner’s Courses 

Two worth-while series of courses are published by 
Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. The Uniform 
Graded Series of lessons includes interesting studies in © 
Old Testament History, Apostolic Church History, 


Building the Study Course 103 


Life of Christ, and several courses of Old and New 
Testament biographies. Each course covers one year’s 
work. 

The Completely Graded Series contains some 
splendid material not to be found in courses of other 
publishers. There is an entire year’s course on mis- 
sions, The Conquering Christ, which may be divided 
into shorter three-month courses: Comparative Re- 
ligions, Missions in the Eastern World, Missions in 
the Western World, and The Business of Missions. A 
very good course on church history is provided, and 
another on the modern church. Lists of the complete 
courses will be furnished free by the publishers. 


Abingdon Press 


The Catalogue of the publishing board of the M. E. 
Church shows some splendid texts on practical Chris- 
tian living and on the modern “fad” religions, as well 
as the splendid pamphlets of The American Home 
Series of special value to parents’ classes, 


Judson Press 


Aside from the regular graded lesson material, the 
publishing house of the Northern Baptists issues much 
other literature that is suitable for use as study courses. 
A series of three courses by Dr. Phillip Nordell, Old 
Testament History, The Apostolic Age, and the Life 
of Christ, is worthy of consideration. The church his- 
tory handbooks by Dr. Vedder are good for either four 
short courses or one long course on Church History. 
Four excellent three-month Old Testament courses, 
Old Testament History, Old Testament Wisdom, Old 
Testament Character Crises, and Old Testament Evan- 


104. The Women’s Class in Action 


gelism, and a course on New Testament History have 
recently been published. 


Sunday School Board 


The Board of the Southern Baptist Convention pub- 
lishes a large number of valuable works suitable for 
class study. The Convention Series of Commentaries 
might well form the basis of pure Bible study. Vol- 
umes have already been issued covering the Pastoral 
Epistles, Romans, Philippians, Ephesians, Mark, Acts 
and Hebrews. Inthe fourth year Senior Graded series 
the Sunday School Board offers well-developed three- 
month courses on John, Ezekiel, Romans and Psalms. 


Pilgrim Press 

To classes wishing to do some real studying, the 
Pilgrim Press offers the new Christian Fellowship Dis- 
cussion Courses. New volumes are being brought out 
every year covering such subjects as Making Chris- 
tianity Christian, Christian Fellowship in Modern 
Industry, Christian Fellowship and International Rela- 
tionships, Christian Fellowship Between Parents and 
Children, Christian Fellowship Between the Farmer 
and the City, Christian Fellowship and Marriage, 
Christian Fellowship and Race Relations, Christian 
Fellowship and American Community Life. Arrange- 
ments may be made with the publishers for loan sup- 
plies of books and leaflets for the various courses. 

Four interesting series of discussion programs are 
offered by Pilgrim under the general title Christian 
Discussion Club Programs. The subjects included are, 
Christian Ideals for Twentieth Century Living, The 
Moral and Religious Training of the Child, What 


Building the Study Course 105 


Do I Believe Today? and Christian Ideals for a New 
W orld. 


Westminster Press 


The many texts available from the Presbyterian 
Board makes it easy for the Teacher to select suitable 
courses. Books suitable for the study of church his- 
tory, missions, and Christian character building may 
be secured. A series of twenty-four three-month adult 
elective courses are specially worthy of consideration. 


Friends’ Series 


The Society of Friends of Philadelphia publish in 
their Graded Series some very satisfying courses. A 
thirty-six lesson course, The Social Teachings of Jesus, 
can be had; seven lessons of these are on the Sermon 
on the Mount. The Prophet’s series includes studies 
on Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah. In the 
Hebrew Literature course are included nine lessons on 
the Epistle to the Hebrews. 


George H. Doran Company 


This house has, for years, specialized in books on 
religious education. It has recently distributed a 
booklet, A Publisher’s Contribution to Religious Edu- 
cation, which classifies all of the titles on the list. 
Women’s classes will find in it suitable books for the 
study of the Bible and social questions, missionary 
study courses and collateral reading, books on child 
and home problems and class and Sunday school 
organization. 

Among the newer books for adult study are The 
Twelve Minor Prophets by George L. Robinson and 


106 The Women’s Class in Action 


The Unknown Bible by Conrad Henry Moehlman. 
This latter is a course in the building of the English 
Bible. The George H. Doran Company are also pub- 
lishers of Professor Moffatt’s New Translation of the 
Bible, which is now available in a single volume. 


The Macmillan Company 


Classes desiring to make a deeper study of missions 
than is possible through the use of only the usual 
mission study texts will find some unusual material on 
the Macmillan list. A number of child-training texts 
suitable for classes of parents are also published. 


Fleming H. Revell Company 


Classes of women will find interesting suggestions 
in the series of twelve courses by Dr. Sell—Studies in 
the Life of Christ; Studies in the Four Gospels; 
Studies in the Life of Paul; Early Church History; 
Studies in the Life of the Christian; Bible Study by 
Books; Bible Study by Periods; Bible Study by Deoc- 
trines; Bible Study in Vital Questions; Introductory 
Bible Study (history, geography, etc.) ; Studies im 
Great Bible Characters; Studies of Famous Bible 
Women. Classes interested in church history and mis- 
sions will find some of the most valuable material in 
the Revell catalogue. 


The U. S. Government 


The Children’s Bureau issues a number of bulletins 
suitable for use in mothers’ classes. One series out- 
lines very completely a course of study on the general 
topic: Child Care and Child Welfare. The Bureau of | 
Education also issues helpful parent-training material. 


Building the Study Course 107 


Standard Press 


An excellent three-month course in Bible apprecia- 
tion, entitled simply The Bible, is offered by the Stand- 
ard Publishing Company. ‘This house also is grad- 
ually building a series of adult courses among which 
are now included lessons on the Acts, and several short 
courses on evangelism, stewardship and home making. 


Christian Board 

The two courses on the Christian home, by Dr. 
Darsie, published by the Christian Board of Publica- 
tion, are among the best available for parent-training 
classes. 


Cokesbury Press 


The Southern Methodist publishing board is now 
beginning to issue some valuable lesson material for 
adults, 


Eden Publishing House 


Several excellent volumes of an adult lesson series 
are published by the Evangelical Board. These lessons, 
issued in quarterly parts, cover both Old and New 
‘Testaments. 


Century Company 


Although publishing no series of study courses, the 
Century Company catalogue does contain a number of 
suggestive volumes suitable as curriculum material for 
adult classes. 


Child Welfare Bureau 


This organization issues no specific study course 


108 The Women’s Class in Action 


material, but it does supply some very helpful charts 
which will be found valuable in connection with any 
course on child training, social hygiene, and child wel- 
fare. ‘The Bureau will supply descriptive lists on 
request. 


National Congress of Mothers 


Several of the leaflets issued by the Mothers’ Con- 
gress include valuable program material for use in 
home-making classes, e.g., “Managing the Income,” 
“The Elusive Vitamin,” “A Well-filled Market 
Basket,” and “Seven Program Outlines.” 


Missionary Education Movement 


The Missionary Education Movement, with the 
Council of Women for Home Missions, and the Cen- 
tral Committee for the United Study of Missions is 
responsible for the long list of home and foreign 
mission texts published during the past twenty years. 
Practically all denominations cooperate in the publica- 
tion of this fine, inexpensive mission study material, 
new volumes being published annually. Some few 
texts, usually dealing with women and missions, and 
written for women’s classes, are published annually by 
the Central Committee. All these mission texts, as 
well as those of strictly denominational interest, are 
distributed through denominational channels. The 
Teacher should secure the catalogue of the Missionary 
Education Department of his own denominational 
board, in which are listed mission study books of the 
home and foreign Boards, as well as the literature of 
other denominations. 


Building the Study Course 109 


Individually Planned Courses 


If the Teacher has the ability, she may plan her own 
course. One Teacher planned a course on How We 
Got Our Bible by selecting material from six or eight 
texts, all of which were incomplete in themselves, and 
was in that way able to present a complete course cover- 
ing the entire subject. A course on strictly denomi- 
national missionary work was in like manner prepared 
from literature furnished by the mission boards and 
files of the denominational missionary magazines. 
Among other courses which may be developed in the 
same way are: How to Use Your Bible, A Young 
Woman’s Problems, A Woman’s Religion. Courses 
in social service may be planned to cover conditions 
existing in the city in which the class is located. 
Courses on biblical books, for which no special texts 
have as yet been published, may be developed and out- 
lined by using commentaries and Bible dictionaries. 

One of the most interesting and at the same time 
most helpful courses for a Teacher to plan is one 
centered about the religious needs of the members of 
her class. Some day, perhaps, the International Lesson 
Committee will outline life-centered courses for adult 
classes. Until they do, classes can develop very satis- 
factory courses of their own, and help accumulate a 
mass of data of real value to the committee when it 
does plan such courses. Even when life-centered 
courses are available, the class must still suit them 
freely to the needs of its members. 

The planning of a life-centered course is one of the 
highest forms of project teaching, because it is funda- 
mental to the success of such a course that the prin- 
ciples developed in class be carried out in actual life. 


110 The Women’s Class in Action 


In working out such a course first ask the members 
to list on a sheet of paper that you will hand them their 
four or five most pressing Christian problems, and to 
number them in the order of their importance to them. 
These problems may deal with matters of faith—be- 
lief in the Bible, Jesus Christ, etc—or they may be 
problems of conduct, or may refer to social, family, or 
business relationships. When the lists are completed 
they should be turned in to the Teacher, signed or un- 
signed. If the former, keep the names confidential. 

During the week the Teacher arranges the problems 
submitted under six topics which will represent 

1, The greatest number of individuals; 

2. The most significant problems from a Christian 
standpoint ; 

3. Those most suitable for group discussion. 

These topics should be duplicated for distribution to 
the members, the lesson sheets containing in addition 
to the list of topics suitable Bible references for each 
topic and library references where desirable. 

On the first Sunday of this course the Teacher will 
probably want to lead the class into a discussion of the 
purpose of Bible study, developing the thought that 
its chief purpose is to fit one better to live a Christian 
life. This lesson will serve to introduce the new course 
of study. During this session the Teacher should as- 
sign definite phases of the topic to be considered on the 
following Sunday to a few key members who will be 
expected to introduce the class discussion briefly at that 
time. At the same time it should be made clear that 
every member of the class should prepare to take some. 
part in the discussion. 

When the next Sunday arrives, the Teacher will 


Building the Study Course 1 


guide the class discussion to the point that the class 
itself will make definite recommendations of the Chris- 
tian conduct to be followed in regard to the problem 
being considered. The members of the class will then 
agree to adopt in their personal lives, during the fol- 
lowing week, the courses of conduct decided upon. 
The experiences of this course of conduct will then 
become the basis of class discussion on the next Sun- 
day, this discussion to continue for two Sundays if 
necessary. Then the group will be ready to consider 
the second leading topic.* 

The Teacher will find it to her advantage to have the 
catalogues of all publishers of religious literature on 
hand, so that she may know what material is avail- 
able. Many texts are on the shelves of the public 
library; often the library of a state Sunday school 
association will be at the disposal of the Teacher. She 
should make it a point to examine personally as many 
courses as possible. She will then be in position to 
choose that which is best for her class, and that which 
she is best fitted to teach. 


II. CLASSIFICATION OF SUGGESTED COURSES 


The following classification of courses for the 
Women’s class is not a complete list of all courses 
available. It is intended to give the class, inexperi- 
enced in selecting balanced courses, a guide by which it 
may work. Enough courses are suggested, however, 
to enable any class to select such material as is needed 


1 The Author will be glad to receive reports of results from any 
classes following a life-centered course. Please report (1) problems 
adopted; (2) source material (Bible, etc.) used for each problem; 
(3) course of action adopted in each; (4) general results of the 
experiment, 


112 The Women’s Class in Action 


for its individual needs. The figures given after many 
of the course topics indicate the number of weeks a 
course will ordinarily require. All courses are suf- 
ficiently flexible to permit minor adjustments in 
length. Publishers are indicated by prefixes as fol- 
lows: A—Abingdon Press; B—Sunday School Board 
of the Southern Baptist Convention; C—University of 
Chicago Press; D—George H. Doran Company; F— 
Society of Friends; G—lInternational Graded Series 
(published by ali denominational boards) ; J—Judson 
Press; K—Cokesbury Press; M—Missionary Educa- 
tion Movement; Mc—Macmillan Company; P—Pil- 
grim Press; R—Fleming H. Revell Company; S— 
Charles Scribner’s Sons; St—Standard Press; W— 
Westminster Press; WP—TIhe Woman’s Press; 
Y—Association Press. 


I. BIBLE OUTLINE COURSES 
(A) Great Characters of the New Testament, 
Hayes (12) 
(A) Great Characters of the Old Testament, 
Rogers (12) 
(A) The Prophetic Movement in Israel, Knud- 
son (10) 


(B) The Bible Period by Period, Tidwell (7) 
(B) Introducing the New Testament, Denham 
(B) Studies in the New Testament, Robertson 


(C) Origin and Teaching of the N. T. Books, 
Burton & Merrifield (9 to 36) 

((C) Origin and Religious Teaching of the O. T. 
Books—Chamberlin (9 to 36) 

(C) Story of the New Testament, Goodspeed 


(20) 
(C) The Truth about the Bible (9 to 36) 


Building the Study Course 113 


(D) Brief Biblical History—Old Testament, 
Foakes-Jackson 

(D) Brief Biblical History—New Testament, 
Foakes-Jackson 

(D) Heart of the Old Testament, Sampey (14) 

(D) The Unknown Bible, Moehlman (25 to 30) 

(D) An Introduction to the Study of the Bible, 

Van Pelt (35 to 40) 

(D) Syllabus for New Testament Study, Robert- 
son 


(Eden) New Testament, Adult Elective (52) 
(Eden) Old Testament, Adult Elective (52) 


(G) New Testament Times (Graded elective) 


(39 or 52) 
(G) Old Testament Times (Graded elective) 
(39 or 52) 


(J) New Testament History, Airplane View, 
Robertson (13) 

(J) Old Testament MHistory, Airplane View, 
Price (13) 

(J) Old Testament History, Nordell (52) 


(Mc) Contents of the New Testament, McClure 
(10-20) 

(Mc) From Genesis to Revelation, Berry (28) 

(Mc) History and Literature of the New Testa- 

ment, Fowler (30) 

(Mc) Making and Meaning of the New Testa- 
ment, Snowden (19) 

(Mc) Old Testament Life and Literature, Mat- 
thews (21) 

(Mc) Short History of the Hebrews, Ottley (12) 


(P) The Achievement of Israel, Houston 


(R) Bible Study by Books, Sell (52) 
(R) Bible Study by Periods, Sell (24) 


114. The Women’s Class in Action 


(R) Life of Christ, Sell (8) 

(R) Life of Paul, Sell (9) 

(R) New Testament and Its Writers, McClymont 

(R) Old Testament and Its Contents, Jas. Rob- 
ertson 


(R) Studies in the Four Gospels, Sell (8) 


(S) Preparations for Christianity, (Old Test.) 
Nordell (52) 


(St.) The Bible—A Study in Appreciation (13) 
(W) Teachings of the Lord Jesus, Bean (8) 
(Y) Book of Isaiah, Robinson (15) 


II. INTENSIVE BIBLE COURSES 
(A) Amos, the Prophet of a New Order, Long- 
acre (13) 
(A) Apostles, Prophets and Reformers, Ascham 
(26 


(A) Coming Kingdom, The, Rall (13) 
(A) Heart Messages from the Psalms, Keeler 


(13) 
(A) Jeremiah (A Prophet of Spirit), Longacre 
8 


(A) Life of Jesus, Rall (26) 

(A) Religion of Israel, Ascham (26) 

(A) Religion of Judah, Ascham (26) 

(A) Students’ History of the Hebrews, Knott 
6 


(2 
(A) Studies in the Parables of Jesus, Luccock 


(13) 
(A) Teachings of Jesus, Rall (26) 


(B) Ezekiel (Senior Graded) (13) 
(B) Gospel of John (Senior Graded) (13) 
(B) Psalms (Senior Graded) (13) 
(B) Romans (Senior Graded) (13) 


(C) Christianity in the Apostolic Age, Gilbert 
(C) First Samuel, Willet (13-26) 


Building the Study Course 1145 


(C) Gospel of John, Goodspeed (9-18) 

(C) Hebrew Prophets, Chamberlin (36) 

(C) How to Enjoy Your Bible (36) 

(C) How to Interpret O. T. Prophecy, Mathews 
(18-36 

(C) Life of Christ, Burton & Mathews, or Bur- 


__ gess (39) 
(C) Life of Paul, Robinson (26) 
(C) Mark, Burton (13-26) 
(C) Paul, a Pioneer in Christian Living and 
Christian Service, Goodspeed (18-36) 
(C) Revelation, Case (8-16) 
(C) Work a si Old Testament Sages, Harper 
(9-3 


(D) The Twelve Minor Prophets, Robinson (12) 

(D) Our Father (Study of the Lord’s Prayer), 
Deane (6) 

(D) The Key to the Kingdom (Study in the 
Beatitudes) (9) 

(D) Everyman’s Life of Jesus, Moffatt (19) 

(D) Bible Biographies, Taylor; 8 volumes: 
Moses, Joseph, David, Ruth, Esther, 
Elijah, Daniel, Peter, Paul 

(D) Bible Types of Modern Women, Mackey 


(10-30) 
(D) Studies in the Epistle of James, Robertson 
(D) Ten Commandments, Coffin (10) 


(F) Amos (Graded Series) (7) 

(F) Hebrews (Graded Series) (9) 
(F) Hosea (Graded Series) (4) 
(F) Isaiah (Graded Series) (11) 
(F) Jeremiah (Graded Series) (7) 
(F) Micah (Graded Series) (3) 


(G) Book of James (Senior Graded) (9) 
(G) Book of Ruth (Senior Graded) (3) 


(J) Apostolic Age, Nordell (30) 
(J) Life of Christ, Nordell (40) 


116 The Women’s Class in Action 


(J) Message of the Lord’s Prayer (8) 
(J) Old Testament Wisdom, de Blois (13) 


(Mc) Jesus of Nazareth, Barton (52-63) | 
(Mc) Student’s Life of Jesus, Gilbert (17-39) 
(Mc) What Did Jesus Teach? Graves (9) 


(P) Israel’s Account of the Beginnings, Gen. 
I-11, Patton (13) 


(R) Bible Heroes: a series of volumes by Dr. 
F. B. Meyer, dealing with Abraham, 
David, Elijah, Jacob, Jeremiah, Joseph, 
Joshua, Moses, Samuel, Zechariah, Paul, 
and John the Baptist (15 each) 

(R) Lessons on the Gospel of Mark, A. T. Rob- 
ertson 

(R) Modern Student’s Life of Christ, Vollmer 
26 


(R) Parables of Our Lord: Luke, Dods (11) 
(R) Studies in the Acts of the Apostles, Wm. 
Robertson 
(R) Studies of Famous Bible Women, Sell (21) 
(R) Studies of Great Bible Characters, Sell (21) 
(R) Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, McAfee 
(8) 


(S) Apostolic Leaders (Uniform Series) (52) 

(S) Heroes and Crises of Early Hebrew History, 
Kent (30-37) 

(S) History of the Hebrews, Sanders (52-104) 

(S) Life of Christ (Uniform Series) (52) 

(S) Making of a Nation (History of Israel), 
Jenks and Kent (12) 

(S) Patriarchs, Kings and Prophets (Uniform 
Series) (52) 

(S) Testing a Nation’s Ideals (Later history of 
Israel), Jenks and Kent (12) 


(St) Lessons in Acts, Walker (26) 


Building the Study Course 117 


(W) Christian According to Paul, Faris (Adult 
Elective Series) (13) 

(W) Life and Letters of Peter, Luccock (Adult 
Elective Series) (13) 

(W) Many-sided David, Howard (Adult Elective 
Series) (13) 

(W) Message of Amos, Robinson and McAfee 
(Adult Elective Series) (13) 

(W) Message of Galatians, Luccock (Adult Elec- 
tive Series) (13) 

(W) Paul’s Prison Letters, Luccock (Adult Elec- 
tive Series) (13) 

(W) Some Women of the Bible, A Veteran Pas- 
tor (Adult Elective Series) (13) 

(W) Study of the Lord’s Prayer, Richards (6) 

(W) Ten Commandments for Today, Dale (10) 


(WP) Bible Studies in the Book of Acts, Old- 


ham (16) 

(WP) Lessons in the Gospel of John, Adams 
(21) 

(WP) Paul, the Conquerer, Ely (12) 

(WP) Supreme Gospel (Hebrews), Kerr (10) 


(Y) New Studies in Acts, Bosworth (19) 
(Y) Teaching of Jesus and His Apostles, Bos- 
worth (30) 


Ill. CHRISTIAN LIFE COURSES (Includes parent 
training and doctrinal) 
*(A) American Home Series (34 pamphlets) 
Richardson (Editor) (13-52) 
(A) Christianity for Today, Hill (12) 
(A) Christian and Rural Institutions, McConnell 


(13) 
(A) Christian Citizenship, McConnell (12) 
(A) Christian in the Countryside, Felton (13) 
(A) Christian Neighborliness, Davis (9) 
(A) Christian Science, So-called, Sheldon 


* A course specially suited to parent-training classes. 


118 The Women’s Class in Action 
(A) Country Church and Its Program, Roadman 


(13) 
(A) Elements of Personal Christianity, Mitchell 


(13) 
(A) Four-fold Test of Mormonism, Sheldon 
(A) Fundamentals of the Christian Religion, 
Halfyard 
(A) Mystery Religions of the New Testament, 
Sheldon 
*(A) Parents and Their Children, Moxcey and 
Ward (12) 
(A) Program of the Christian Religion, Shack- 
ford (12 
(A) Religion and Life, Hull 
(A) Stewardship for All of Life, Lovejoy 
(A) Studies in Recent Adventism, Sheldon 
(A) Theosophy and New Thought, Sheldon 
(A) Woman in the World’s Work, Johnson 


(B) Talks on Soul Winning, Mullins (11) 


*(BE) Training Little Children—Bulletin 1919, 
No. 39 


*(CB) Child Mentality and Management, Bulletin 
QI (7 outline programs) 
*(CB) Child Labor, Bulletin 93 (6 outline pro- 


grams ) 

*(CB) Children in Need of Special Care, Bulletin 
94 (5 outline programs) 

*(CB) Child Welfare Programs, Bulletin 73 (5 
outline programs) 

*(CB) Hygiene of Maternity and Childhood, 
Bulletin 90 (outline programs) 

*(CB) Illegitimacy as a Child Welfare Problem, 
Bulletin 66 (4 outline programs) 

“1B sige! and aoe pai Bulletin 92 (6 outline 


rograms ) 
*(CB) Seca of Child Welfare, Bulletin 60 (8) 


* A course specially suited to parent-training classes. 


Building the Study Course 119 
(Century) Women of the Bible, Marble (13) 
(Christian Board) Art of Winning Folks, Darsie 


(13) 
*(Christian Board) Christian Family, Darsie (13) 
*( Christian Board) Hints on Child Training, Dar- 
sie (13) 


(C) Lives Worth Living, Peabody (biographies 
of women leaders) (12) 

(C) Paul, A Pioneer in Christian Living and 
Christian Service, Goodspeed (13-39) 

(C) Principles of Christian Living, Smith (13- 
26) 

(C) Realities of the Christian Religion (9-36) 

*(C) Religious Education in the Family, Cope 


(24) 


(D) Bible Types of Modern Women, Mackay 
(10-30) 

) Christianity, Its Nature and Truth, Peake 

) Essentials of Christianity, Sheldon 

) Jesus Christ and the World Today, Hutch- 
ins and Rochester 

) Parent and the Child, Cope (25) 

) Scientific Christian Thinking for Young 
People, Johnston (13) 

) Ten Lessons on Evangelism, Hicks (10) 

) Womanhood in the Making, Eggleston 

) Mothers and Daughters, Cosgrave (11) 

) Your Boy and Your Girl, Jamison (15) 

) That Boy of Yours, Kirtley (37) 


J) Christian Stewardship, Pollard (12) 
J) Church a Field of Service, Rust (12) 
*(J) Evangelism of Youth, Gage (10) 
*(J) Mothers’ Problems, Clark (10) 
J) Old Testament Character Crises, Crannell 
(13) 


* A course specially suited to parent-training classes. 


120 The Women’s Class in Action 


(J) Old Testament Evangelism, Sampey (13) 
(J) Principles of Christian Service, Cope (10) 


(Mc) Fundamentals of Christianity, Vedder 
(Mc) Modern Use of the Bible, Fosdick (8) 


(Mc) Now I Know (Christian Doctrine), Mac- 


Callum (15) 


(Mc) Old Testament in the Life of Today, Rice 


(50 
*(Mc) Outlines of Child Study, McKeever (112) 
*(Mc) Parenthood and Child Nurture, Baker 


(Mc) Reconstruction of Religion, Elwood (11) 


(Mc) Religious Foundations, Jones (10) 
*(Mc) Study of Child Nature, Harrison 


(P) Bible in Our Modern World, Sheldon (13) 
*(P) Childhood and Character, Hartshorne (26) 
*(P) Child Nature and Child Nurture, St. John 


(13-25) ; 

*(P) Christian Fellowship Between Parents and 
Children (13) 

*(P) Christian Fellowship and Marriage (13) 


(P) Christian Ideals for a New World, Porter 


13 
(P) Christian Ideals for Twentieth-century Liv- 
ing, orter, (12) 
(P) First Christian School, Cary (13) 


(P) Making Christianity Christian, Sheldon (13) 
*(P) Moral and Religious Training of a Child, 


Porter (13) 


(P) Realizing God in Everyday Life, Porter 


(13) 
(P) The Teaching Church, Winchester and 
Shaver (13) 


*(P) Training Children in the Christian Family, 


Weigle (13-26) 


*(P) Training the Devotional Life, Weigle and 


Tweedy (10) 


* A course specially suited to parent-training classes. 


Building the Study Course 121 


(P) What Do I Believe Today, Porter (13) 
(P) What It Means to be a Christian, Bosworth 


(13-26) 


(R) Bible Study by Doctrines, Sell (24) 

(R) New Testament Sociology, Vollmer (30) 
(R) Our Lord’s Teachings, Jas. Robertson 
(R) Religion of a Mature Mind, Coe (13) 
(R) Studies of Famous Bible Women, Sell (21) 
(R) Studies in Great Bible Characters, Sell (21) 
(R) Studies in the Life of a Christian, Sell (14) 
(R) Studies in Vital Questions, Sell (16) 


*(S) Child Study and Child Training, Forbush 
6 


| (36) 
(S) The Modern Church, Nordell (Senior 
Graded) (52) 


*(Small, Maynard) Character Training in Child- 
hood, Haviland 


(St) Harvest is White, Morgan and Thornton 

) ( Missions) 

*(St) Home and the Family, Lappin-Van Voor- 
his (13) 

(St) Studies in Christian Stewardship, Harrison 


12 
(St) Studies in Evangelism, Morgan-Thornton 


13 
(St) Training for Personal Evangelism, Harrison 
(12) 


(W) A Christian’s Habits, Speer (14) 

(W) Characteristics of the Christian Life, Luc- 
cock (Adult Elective) (13) 

(W) Christian According to Paul, Faris (Adult 

j Elective) (13) 

(W) Christian Character in Conduct, Miller (Y. 
P, Elective) (13) 


* A course specially suited to parent-training classes. 


122 The Women’s Class in Action 


(W) Christian Character in Service, Miller (Y. 
P. Elective) (13) 

(W) Christian in Business, Miller (Y. P. Elec- 
tive) (13) 

(W) Christian Home, Miller (Y. P. Elective) 


13) 
*(W) Christian Home, A Veteran Pastor (Adult 
Hlective) (13) 
(W) Christian in His Social Relationships (Adult 
Elective) (13) 
(W) Christian Stewardship, McConaughy (Adult 
Elective) (13) 
(W) Christian Stewardship, Somerdike (Y. P. 
Elective) (13) 
(W) Elements of Personal Christianity, Luc- 
cock (Adult Elective) (13) 
*(W) Family, The, Luccock (Adult Elective) (13) 
(W) Fundamentals of Christian Experience, 
Luccock (Adult Elective) (13) 
(W) Fundamentals of Daily Living, Luccock 
(Adult Elective) (13) 
*(W) Household Religious Education, Luccock 

(Adult Elective) (13) 

(W) Meaning of Salvation, Luccock (Adult 
Elective) (13) 

(W) Meaning of Stewardship, Luccock (Adult 
Elective) (13) 

(W) Nurture of Christian Character, Miller (Y. 
Fa tlective ) i014} 


(WP) Fundamentals for Daily Living, Smith 


(13) 
(WP) Golden Word, The, Some Adventures in 
the Bible, Richards (8) 
(WP) How to Use the Bible, Fifield (6) 
(WP) Human Element in the Making of a Chris- 
tian, Conde (19) 
(WP) Jesus, the Friend of the People (6) 
(WP) Jesus’ Teachings about Life, Kirk (12) 


* A course specially suited to parent-training classes. 


Building the Study Course 123 


(WP) Present Day Definition of Christianity, 
Wild (4) 

(WP) Questions for a Young Woman of Today, 
McCulloch (6) 

(WP) Way of Christ, Studies in Discipleship, 
Purdy (10-12) 

(WP) Women of Ancient Israel, Adams (10) 


(Y) Christ in Every-day Life, Bosworth (12) 
*(Y) Christianity and Amusements, Edwards (10) 
*(Y) How Jesus Met Life Questions, Elliot (13- 


29) 
(Y) Marks of a World Christian, Fleming (13) 
(Y) Meaning of Faith, Fosdick (13) 
(Y) Meaning of Prayer, Fosdick (10) 
(Y) Meaning of Service, Fosdick (12) 
{Y) Modern Problems as Jesus Saw Them, 
Horne 
(Y) Meeting the Master, Davis (13) 
(Y) Psalms of the Social Life, McAfee (13) 
(Y) Twelve Tests of Character, Fosdick (12) 
(Y) Under Highest Leadership, Adam (13) 
(Y) Why the Church? 


LV. CHURCH HISTORY. 
(A) Our American Churches, Sweet (13) 


(B) Churches of the New Testament, McDaniel 
(10) 

(C) Christianity and Its Bible, Waring (13-26) 

(C) Great Men of the Christian Church, Walker 
(13-26) 

(C) How the Bible Grew, Lewis (13) 

(C) Spread of Christianity in the Modern World, 
Moore (13-26) 

(C) Religions of the World, Barton (16-26) 


(D) Bible, Our Heritage, Dargan 
(D) Outlines of Missionary History, Mason 


* A course specially suited to parent-training classes. 


124 The Women’s Class in Action 


(Eden) History of the Christian Church (Adult 
Elective) (52) 


(J) Church History by Periods, Vedder 
Vol. I. Early Church History (8) 
Vol. II. Period of the Reformation (8) 
Vol. III. Modern Period (8) 


(R) History of the Christian Church, Moncrief 
(13-26) 

(R) Landmarks in Church History, Cowan (26) 

(R) Missionary Enterprise, Bliss (12-22) 

(R) Studies in Early Church History, Sell 


(W) Growth of the Christian Church, Nichols 


(18) 
(W) How We Got Our Bible, Smythe (8) 


(S) Landmarks in Church History, Rowe (52) 
(S) Story of Our Bible, Hunting (39) 


Note: Every class should study the history of its 
own denomination and the principles for which 
it stands. Suitable texts may be had from the 
denominational boards. 


V. MISSIONS AND SOCIAL SERVICE 
(A) Christianity and World Democracy, Jones 


(13) 

(A) Christian Conquest of America, Keeler (13) 

(A) Christian Ideals in Industry, Johnson and 
Holt (13) 

(A) Christian in Social Relationships, Diffen- 
dorfer (13) 

(A) Liquor Problem, The, Richardson (13) 

(A) Missionary Education in Home and School, 
Diffendorfer (17) 

(A) Poverty and Wealth, Ward (13) 

(A) Training World Christians, Loveland (12) 


Building the Study Course 125 


(B) All the World in All the World, Carver (12) 
(B) Call of the South, Masters (8) 

(B) Challenge of the Country Church, Jent 
(B) Country Church in the South, Masters (8) 
(B) Making America Christian, Masters (6) 


(C) Message of Jesus to Our Modern Life, 
Mathews (9-36) 

(C) Message of the Prophets to the 2oth Cen- 
tury, Willet (9-36) 

(C) Religions of the World, Barton (20) 

(C) Social Duties from the Christian Point of 
View, Henderson 

(C) Spread of Christianity in the Modern World, 

| Moore (13-26) 

(D) Old Testament in the 20th Century, Lewis 

(D) Men, Women and God. A Study in Sex, 


Gray (13) 
(D) Christianity and the Race Problem, Oldham 
2 


(52) 

(D) The Negro Around the World, Price (17) 

(D) The Progress of World Wide Missions, 
Glover (30) 

(D) War: Its Causes, Consequences and Cure, 
Page (20) 

(D) Outlines of Missionary History, Mason. 


(G) The Bible and Social Living (Graded Elec- 
tive Course) (52) 
May be used as the following short 

courses : 

. The Family (7) 

The Community (6) 

The State (6) 

The Church (6) 

The Industrial Order (13) 

Bible Spokesman for the Kingdom of 

God (13) 


) Building a Community, Batten (10) 
) Christ and the Nations, Batten (13) 


ARR Ds 


(J 
(J 


126 The Women’s Class in Action 


(J) Christianity in a New World, Burton (12) 

(J) Redemption of the City, Sears (8) 

(J) Social Ideals of the Lord’s Prayer, Stack- 
house (13) 

(J) Social Principles of Jesus, Rauschenbusch 


12 

(J) Two Thousand Years of Missions before 
Carey, Barnes 

(J) God’s Dynamite (Prayer and Missions) 
Lerrigo 


(K) Missionary Message of the Bible, Cook 


(M) Advance in the Antilles, Grose (8) 

(M) Aliens or Americans, Grose (8) 

(M) Ancient Peoples at New Tasks (8) 

(M) Bible and Missions, Montgomery (6) 

(M) Building with India, Fleming (6) 

(M) Challenge of the City, Strong (8) 

M) Child and America’s Future, The, Stowell 
(6) 

) China’s New Revolution, (6) 

) Creative Forces in Japan, Fisher (6) 

) Christian Americanization, Brooks (6) 

) Church and the Community, The, Diffen- 
dorfer (6) 

) Church of the Open Country, Wilson (6) 

) Debt Eternal, The (Childhood), Finley (9) 

) From Over the Border (Mexico), McCombs 

) Immigrant Forces, Shriver (8) 

) Lure of Africa, Patton (6) 

) Lighted to Lighten (India), Van Doren (6) 

) Looking Ahead with Latin America, High 

) Moslem Faces the Future, Sailer (6) 

) Moslem World, Zwemer (8) 

) Moslem Women, Zwemer 

) Near East, Crossroads of the World, Hall 
(6) 

New Days in Latin America, Browning 


( 
( 
( 
( 
( 
( 
( 
( 
( 
( 
( 
( 
( 
( 
( 
( 
( in L 
( New Era in Asia, Eddy (8) 


ae Seeeeereeee Sees 


Building the Study Course 127 


(M) New Life Currents in China, Gamewell (6) 

(M) Our Templed Hills, Felton (Rural Life) 
(6) 

(M) Peasant Pioneers (Slavs), Miller (6) 

(M) Prayer and Missions, Montgomery (6) 

(M) Sons of Italy, Mangano (8) 

(M) South American Neighbors, Stuntz (8) 

(M) Trend of the Races (Negro), Haynes 

(M) Rs How of Foreign Missions, Brown 


(M) Women and the Leaven in Japan, DeForest 
(6 
(M) Working Women of Japan, Gulick (6) 


‘NNoTE: Some of the texts mentioned are a few 
years old but are still the best available for the 
respective fields. In some cases it will be neces- 
sary to supplement the text with more recent ma- 
terial secured from missionary magazines, cur- 
rent event magazines and late reference books. 


(Mc) Business of Missions, Patton (7-13) 
(Mc) Kingdom without Frontiers, The, Martin 


(7) 


(P) Christian Fellowship and American Com- 
munity Life (13) 

(P) Christian Fellowship among the Nations, 
Davis and Chamberlin (13) 

(P) Christian Fellowship and Race Relation- 
ships (13) 

(P) Christian Fellowship in Modern Industry, 
Holt (13) 

(P) Social Work in the Churches, Holt (13-26); 


(R) Appeal of Medical Missions, Moorshead 
12 
(R) Missionary Enterprise, Bliss (12-22) 


(R) Missionary Principles and Practices, Speer 
(13-39) 


128 The Women’s Class in Action 


(R) Missions in the Plan of the Ages, Carver (9) 
(R) Religions of the World, Grant 
(R) Social Task of Christianity, Batten (6) 


(S) The Conquering Christ, Boone (52) 
May be used as four short courses: 
1. Comparative Religion (13) 
2. Eastern Missions (13) 
3. Western Missions (13) 
4. The Business of Missions (13) 


(W) Beacon Lights of Christian Service in For- 
eign Lands, Luccock (13) 
(W) Christian Missions, Kelly (Y. P. Elective) 


(13) 
(W) Money, the Acid Test, McConaughy (6) 


(WP) Bible as a Community Book, Holt (9) 

(WP) Building of the Kingdom, Holmes (7) 

(WP) Social Message of the Book of Revelation, 
Calkins (13) 

(WP) Ultimate Quest (Race Problems), Gerwick 


IO) 
(WP) Woman Workers of the Orient, Burton 
6 


(Y) Christianity and Economic Problems, Page 
(Y) Christianity and the Race Problem, Oldham 
(Y) Christianizing Community Life (12) 

(Y) Faiths of Mankind, Soper (12) 

(Y) Whither Bound in Missions? Fleming 

(Y) Who is My Neighbor? 


Note: Every class should be familiar with the 
work being done by its own denomination in the 
mission fields. For suitable curriculum material 
write the denominational boards. 


Building the Study Course 129 


III. EXAMPLES OF STUDY COURSE BUILDING 


It is not likely that any one of the courses outlined 
will suit other classes just as it stands, but they do 
show how balanced courses have been planned. The 
figures following the course subjects indicate the num- 
ber of weeks in the course. The weeks do not always 
total 52—Christmas, Easter, Rally Day, and other 
special days sometimes are not given over to the 
regular course. 


Gospel of John, 13 (Intensive) 

Meaning of Service 12 (Chr. Living) 
Many-sided David, 13 (Int.) 

Fundamentals of Daily Living, 13 (Chr. Life) 


Ten Commandments, 10 (Intensive) 
China, 6 (Missions) 

Parables of Jesus, 13 (Int.) 

A Woman’s Problems, 13 (Chr. Life) 
Life of Paul, 9 (Bible Outline) 


How We Got Our Bible, 9 (Ch. History) 

History of the Baptists, 8 (Ch. History) 

New Testament History, 13 (B.O.) 

Christ and the Nations, 13 (Social Service) 

Christian According to Paul, 13 (Chr. Living and 
Intensive) 


Oid Testament History, 13 (B. O.) 
Interpretation of Old Testament Prophecy, 13 (B. O.) 
Social Teachings of Jesus, 26 (Social Ser. and Int.) 


Missionary Message of the Bible, 13 (Missions) 
Revelation, 13 (Intensive) 

The Christian Home, 13 (Chr. Life) 

Parables of Jesus, 13 (Intensive) 


130 The Women’s Class in Action 


How to Use Your Bible, 13 (Chr. Life) 
Story of the New Testament, 20 (B. O.) 
Bible Types of Modern Women, 17 (Intensive) 


Revelation, 2 months (Intensive) 

LitetorChmst, '2 mos. a) 

Genesis, 2 mo. (B. O.) 

Social Teachings of Bible, 2 months (Social Ser.) 
Epistles of Paul, 2 mo. (B. ®.) 

Christian F undamentals, 2 mo. (Chr. Life) 


Heart of the Old Testament, 14 (B. O.) 
Working Women of Japan, 6 (Missions) 
Galatians, 13 (Intensive) 

Mothers’ Problems, 1o (Chr. Life) 
Daniel, g (Intensive) 


Women of Ancient Israel, 10 (Int.) 
How We Got Our Bible, 9 (Ch. History) 
Life of Christ, 24 (Intensive) 

A Woman’s Religion, 9 (Chr. Life) 


How to Interpret O. T. Prophecy (18) (B. O.) 
History of the Christian Church (15) (Ch. History) 
Making America Christian (6) (Missions) 

Gospel of John (13) (Int.) 


Restatement of Baptist Principles (10) (Chr. Life) 
Book of Isaiah (15) (Int.) 

Life of Paul (19) (B. O.) 

Hosea (8) (Intensive) 


A ONE-YEAR OUTLINE COURSE 


Heart of the Old Testament (14) 

Origin & Teachings of N. T. Books (18) 
Survey of Baptist Missions (9) 

Baptist Principles (11) 


Building the Study Course 131 


It will be seen that in no case has it happened that 
all the five groups of subjects mentioned in the previous 
chapter have been included in one year’s course. 
While there should be considerable pure Bible study 
in each year’s series, yet it does not follow that there 
must be an outline course each year—the class may 
find it advisable to skip a year, devoting the time to 
more intensive study. So, too, it is hardly likely that 
there will be a Church History course each year. If 
the course is one like Proverbs, or James, both in- 
tensely practical books, the class may not need another 
Christian Life course during that season. Each class 
must decide what it is that it needs most, and then plan 
the course accordingly. Class study 1s always made for 
the class—not the class for the study. The suggestions 
given in this chapter should enable the Teacher or 
Lesson Course Committee to plan suitable, balanced 
courses to give the members the spiritual food they 
need. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Wood, “Adult Class Study,” Part IT. 

“The Parent’s Department,” Leaflet 431, International 
Sunday School Council. 

Various Study Texts Listed. 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


1. A class President stated, “Our class considered giv- 
ing up the International Lessons for selected courses, 
but we decided to keep the regular lessons. Our members 
want to study the Bible.” What is the fallacy in this 
statement? 

2. Analyze the religious needs of the members of ycur 
class. What are their greatest weaknesses? 


132 The Women’s Class in Action 


3. Have your members a clear idea of the structure 
of the Bible? Do they understand how the various 
books came to be written? Have they a connected outline 
in their minds of Old Testament history, New Testa- 
ment history, the life of Christ, the life of Paul? Do 
they understand how our present Bible came to be? Do 
they know the distinctive messages of the various books 
of the Bible? 

4. Do the members of your class know definitely in 
what ways your church differs from other churches—in 
doctrine and polity? Do they know how your church 
came to exist as a separate denomination? Are they 
thoroughly conversant with the work being done by your 
denomination in the home and foreign mission fields? 

5. In your class sessions, are the lessons being applied 
directly to the everyday business, social and home rela- 
tionships of the members? Or are the lessons largely 
abstract? 

6. In the light of your analysis, plan a course of study 
for your class, to meet the most urgent religious needs of 
the members. The outline may be for one, two or three 
years. Remember though that the needs of the mem- 
bership may change in three years, and consequently the 
course should always be subject to revision. 


Note: Social hygiene is one of the most important 
subjects that any parent-training class can study. 
Unfortunately, there is no genuinely satisfactory 
study course on the subject available. The United 
States Public Health Service has an outlined 
course on Social Hygiene which will be sent to 
those interested and which may be adapted to 
class use. The American Social Hygiene Associa- 
tion, 370 Seventh Avenue, New York City, is pre- 
paring a number of outlined courses, but as this 
volume goes to press none is ready. The Asso- 
ciation is in position to furnish suitable reference 
material for mothers who wish to give social hy- 
giene information to children of various ages. 


CHAPTER VIII 


EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP IN THE 
GLASS 


I. QUALIFICATIONS OF A CLASS PRESIDENT 


EXT to the Teacher the President is the most im- 
portant officer of the class. She is the spokesman 
for the class at all times, and by her the class is judged. 


Character 


The President should first of all and above all be a 
Christian woman, and a member of the church in 
which she is working. She should be an everyday 
Christian; she should be a woman of sincere Christian 
convictions and practice, a lover of the Bible and a 
lover of folks. No woman without these qualifications 
can hope to be a successful President of a class of 
women in the church school, no matter how much 
executive ability she may have. 


Executive Ability 


If necessary to choose between a Christian woman 
without executive ability and a non-Christian with 
executive ability, the choice should fall unquestionably 
upon the former. The ability to lead and to direct 
is, however, essential to class growth. There are many 
good Christian women who make excellent workers if 
wisely directed, but who have not the ability to lead. 


Unless they make strenuous efforts to develop the quali- 
133 


134. The Women’s Class in Action 


ties of leadership, these individuals will not do good 
work as class executives. The President must be able 
to put every member of the class to work; she must be 
ever alert to see that every officer is filling her job to 
the best of her ability; she must have good common 
sense and judgment to meet the many situations which 
arise from week to week in the class; she must have 
foresight to plan future work for the class, and to see 
that it is carried to a satisfactory conclusion. 


Personality 


Personality too should be considered in selecting the 
presiding officer of the class. By personality we mean 
that which distinguishes or differentiates one, that in- 
definable something in a woman which causes her to be 
liked or disliked. Personality is largely dependent upon 
the so-called little things of life. The class leader, for 
instance, should be a leader, not a boss. Members 
ordinarily resent being bossed, but will usually respond 
willingly to the right sort of leadership. To secure 
response the President must first establish on her own 
part a willingness to serve. Talking service without 
personal example to back it is a certain means of kill- 
ing the embryonic service germ. 

The class President must exhibit a warmth of friend- 
ship toward each and every member; she must be no 
less interested in the class members than the Teacher 
herself. In fact she should be even more interested, 
for she is the spiritual leader of the class. The physical 
bearing of the President must also be watched. Her 
clothes must be kept spotless and neat or she will lose 
the respect of the members. She should maintain an 
erect, alert, businesslike attitude before the class, not 


Executive Leadership in the Class 135 


lounging on tables or other furniture. A drowsy ap- 
pearance on the part of the presiding officer is not 
likely to stir the class to wakeful activity. 

Enthusiasm, energy and initiative are the basic ele- 
ments of good leadership. Coupled closely to them is 
self-reliance. These qualities may not all be present 
in every presiding officer. If all of these elements 
are found in any class President, fortunate is the class 
possessing her. Every class leader should strive to 
develop these qualities, for they can be developed by 
persistence in doing the things expected of her. 


A Trained Leader 


The class President should have in addition to the 
aforementioned qualifications, a knowledge of the pur- 
poses of the women’s class, its needs, the methods of 
work and the materials with which the work 1s done. 
She should read as much as possible of the available 
literature on the subjects of Bible class organization 
and activities, missions, social service, parent training, 
place of adults in Christian work, etc. Occasional read- 
ing of books on general school administration will also 
help broaden her vision. It is desirable that the Presi- 
dent visit other organized classes occasionally and ob- 
serve the methods used by them. If, because of the 
needs of the class, the President cannot make these 
visits herself, she should delegate some of her assist- 
ants to do this work. Indeed, if the class is a large 
one, some member might visit each week, bringing 
back a brief report of her observations the following 
week. Care should be taken to see that so many 
members are not sent as to affect seriously the class 
attendance. 


136 The Women’s Class in Action 


The conscientious class President will consider her 
work of sufficient importance to take advantage of op- 
portunities for formal training in Sunday School con- 
ventions, institutes, and community training schools. 
The designation “teacher training’ has undoubtedly 
kept many other class officers away from such schools. 
As far as adults are concerned it should be “Leader- 
ship Training’; the author so designates his own com- 
munity training school courses in adult methods. The 
adult specialization units of the new standard training 
course should be completed by all the officers of the 
women’s class. 


Knowledge of Membership 


Finally the President should know the class mem- 
bers. She should study each individual woman in the 
class. She should know their likes and dislikes, their 
abilities and limitations. She should be able to sug- 
gest women as assistants to the several officers at any 
time. The President should aim to see that every 
woman not on the official staff is at work as an as- 
sistant to some officer. It is well in the larger classes 
to keep a card or notebook record of the members, 
their abilities and willingness to serve. 


II. THE SUNDAY SESSION 


The class President has charge of the Sunday morn- 
ing sessions. This is not a part of the Teacher’s 
duty. In too many cases the Teacher opens the class 
session, asks for the reports, makes announcements, 
discusses class business, and teaches the lesson. This 
tendency is bad; it makes the class too much of a one- 


Executive Leadership in the Class 137 


woman affair. This is also true about the class dis- 
cussions, While the teacher should be expected to give 
her views, and should have them respected, members 
should be made to feel that the work of the class is 
in charge of the class, and not wholly in charge of the 
Teacher. 

Upon the President rests the responsibility of keep- 
ing the real purpose of the class, Bible study, from 
being eclipsed. She must strive to avoid the waste of 
time entailed by frequent long discussions on business 
matters. The Teacher's time should be carefully 
guarded. ‘The class session should be started on time, 
if only two are present. The announcements should 
be brief and to the point. All secular business should 
be kept out and transacted at the regular business 
meetings. 

The Sunday session should be of a devotional spirit. 
The class should have a well-worked-out program to 
be followed. No President should ever stand before 
the class without a definitely planned order for the 
day’s exercises. This order of service may be adapted 
to any needs of the class; no set program can be given 
that will suit all classes, If the class meets with the 
Adult Department, the opening worship program will 
be taken care of there. If not, the class must formulate 
its own worship service. 

The purpose of the preliminary service is for wor- 
ship, not just to open the class session. Each program 
should be based upon a definite theme, which may be 
one of a series of sub-divisions of a larger theme. The 
program will include a call to worship, prepared prayers 
in harmony with the theme of the day, singable songs 
(including, perhaps, a class song), a devotional reading, 


138 The Women’s Class in Action 


not necessarily of the passages assigned for the lesson 
period, and perhaps a brief devotional message brought 
by a class member. 

Announcements should be made at the beginning of 
the session, so that the Teacher’s message is the final 
impression on the minds of those present. The whole 
worship program should be planned to lead the mem- 
bers into a receptive attitude to receive the lesson of 
the day. 

Each worship program, whether class or department, 
should be based on a definite theme. Often one theme 
may be followed for a month or more, one phase being 
developed each week. The theme, “Soul Winning,” 
for example, may be developed in four weeks accord- 
ing to these sub-themes: Through Personal Work; 
Through Interecessory Prayer; Through Home Mis- 
sions; Through Foreign Missions. One class used 
for a month the theme, “Fellowship,” dividing it into 
four topics: Fellowship with Jesus, Fellowship of Class 
Members, Fellowship in the Community, World Fel- 
lowship. “Stewardship,” is another theme suited to 
classes of women. Programs may be planned on God, 
Owner of All; Stewardship of Money; Stewardship 
of Time; Stewardship of Talents. In planning the 
worship program, songs, prayers, Scripture, talks, and 
special features should all be in harmony with the 
theme of the day. 


A Typical Class Program 


9: 15—President on hand for preliminary consulta- 
tion with other officers. 
Vice-President at assembly room door to wel- 
come strangers. 


Executive Leadership in the Class 139 


Visitor on hand to welcome members. 

Assistants in class room to welcome any who 
may come there direct. 

Librarian distributes Bibles, song books, 
lesson outlines, in class room. 

‘Teacher, Treasurer, Reporter, Entertainer, 
arrange charts, announcements on_black- 
board, etc. 

9:30—Opening worship with Senior or Adult De- 
partment, or in class room if there is no 
organized department. 

9:45—Class retires to class room. 

Secretary at door to pass out attendance slips 
and collection envelopes. 

President calls class to order. 

Prayer by a member. 

Reports of Vice-President and Visitor. 
(Brief.) 

Welcoming new members and _ assigning 
prospects. 

Report of Secretary and Treasurer. (Brief.) 

Report of visitation to other classes. 

10: 00—Class Song. 
Brief Missionary Talk—by a member. 
Lesson Period. 

10: 45—Closing Song and Prayer. 

10: 50—Adjourn to Preaching Service. 


Many Presidents are failures in the matter of in- 
troducing special speakers. These introductions should 
be brief, pointed and snappy. The President should 
not go into detail regarding the history of the speaker. 
All such details should be taken care of in the pre- 


140 The Women’s Class in Action 


liminary advertising. A brief statement of who and 
what the speaker is, and what she is to talk about, 
supplemented by a bright, pointed anecdote, will usually 
suffice. After all, the class wants to hear the speaker— 
not the chairman’s long-winded introduction. Under 
no circumstances introduce a speaker by reading a 
lengthy history of her life from notes, as some chair- 
men have been known to do. 


III. BUSINESS SESSIONS 


The class business session may truly be said to be 
the life of the class. Monthly meetings are desirable, 
but some classes find bi-monthly and quarterly meet- 
ings entirely satisfactory. Provide for as frequent 
meetings as the members can attend—but have regular 
business meetings. All class business should be trans- 
acted at the business meetings, leaving the Sunday 
service for the study of God’s word. The business 
meetings should be planned just as carefully as any 
Sunday session. The by-laws should provide an order 
of business for the sake of expedition. The following 
is suggested, but may be altered to suit conditions in 
the class. 

1. Call to order. 

Prayer. 

Reading of minutes of previous meeting. 
Reports of officers and special committees. 
Unfinished business. 

New business. 

Elections. 

Adjournment. 

Social hour. 


ES ape BRD LB inode 


Executive Leadership in the Class 141 


As in the case with the Sunday meetings, the busi- 
ness meeting should be called to order prompily. 
When the habit of punctuality is once established, 
waste time is eliminated and difficulty regarding at- 
tendance reduced to a minimum. Foolishness should 
not be a part of the business session. Members some- 
times feel that the business session should be made 
part of the scheme of entertainment, some classes 
regularly devoting the entire evening merely to social 
intercourse. This should not be. By all means set 
aside a liberal portion of the evening for fellowship 
and social features, but let it be understood that busi- 
ness meetings are for business. 

In the last analysis the success of the class business 
meeting depends on the amount of business the class 
is doing. Unless the class is busy, the business meet- 
ing becomes a mere routine, is poorly attended, and 
finally disappears. To classes having difficulty in mak- 
ing the business meeting interesting, the best advice is 
“Get busy.” 


IV. EXECUTIVE MEETINGS 


Of equal importance with the regular business meet- 
ings are the meetings of the executive board. The 
President should make the officers her advisors and 
helpers on all important matters. While each officer 
should be given freedom in the conduct of her office, 
there are class problems and plans that demand the 
attention of all the officers. Such matters as a class 
day service, class banquet, reunion, or the like, need 
the cooperative planning of the whole board. The 
carrying out of the plans as formulated by the board 


142 The Women’s Class in Action 


can then be left to the individual officers. These de- 
tails of larger plans can be worked out better and with 
greater economy of time in an officers’ meeting than 
in a general business meeting. The officers will, of 
course, submit completed outlines of their work to the 
class for approval. The meetings of the officers should 
be held regularly, once a month if possible,—just be- 
fore the regular class meeting. 


V. FUNDAMENTALS OF PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE 


All business of the class should be conducted in 
accord with recognized principles of parliamentary law. 
With the rise of a multitude of women’s clubs, women 
are becoming more familiar with the expeditious 
handling of organization business through business- 
like methods. Order is succeeding confusion in the 
more prominent Women’s Bible Classes. If she is not 
familiar with parliamentary procedure, the new Presi- 
dent should take steps at once to learn its rudiments. 
The following brief outline of parliamentary practice 
based on King’s Practical Parliamentary Guide, in- 
cludes those essentials that will enable a President to 
conduct a meeting of the Women’s Bible Class. 

Before any business can be transacted a quorum must 
be present. The number that shall constitute a quorum 
should be fixed by the by-laws—at least 25 per cent of 
the class membership should be required. Without 
this provision, a very few members might very easily 
manipulate the whole organization. 

In order to obtain the floor to present a proposition 
or to speak on a question, it is necessary for the speaker 
to arise and address the chairman, who will recognize 


Executive Leadership in the Class 143 


her by name or by nod. This recognition is required 
before any one is entitled to present a question or take 
part in a debate. 

To place a proposition before the class for considera- 
tion it is only necessary after being recognized, to say, 
“Madam President, I move that—,” stating in simple 
words the action that is desired. No discussion should 
be permitted before a motion has been made. Every 
principal motion must be seconded by another member 
of the class, or it cannot go before the house, but all 
principal motions are subject to certain motions of 
higher rank. 

The time of class business meetings should be fixed 
by the by-laws. If for any reason the class fixes the 
time from meeting to meeting, a motion to set this 
time takes rank over any other motion that may be 
before the house. This motion requires no quorum, 
cannot be debated, cannot be used to change the time 
of a meeting already set, and is in order even if a 
motion to adjourn has been placed but the vote not 
announced by the chair. 

As soon as a motion has been made and before any 
debate has taken place, a member may move the ques- 
tion of consideration. No second is required but a 
two-thirds negative vote is necessary to stop consid- 
eration of the question. This motion may be recon- 
sidered. 

A motion to withdraw the question before the house 
can be made any time before it has been amended or 
voted upon. This motion cannot be debated, but may 
be set aside by an objection to consideration. A two. 
thirds vote is necessary to withdraw a motion. 

If a question consists of several separate and dis- 


144 The Women’s Class in Action 


tinct parts, a motion may be made to divide the ques- 
tion. If it carries, each separate part is handled as a 
principal motion. No debate or amending is permitted 
on this motion. 

The class has the right to change any proposal 
brought before it by amending the original motion. 
As many as two amendments may be put on one mo- 
tion. If amendments are voted down, others may be 
proposed until two have carried. In voting, the second 
amendment is voted on first, then the first and finally 
the principal question with whatever changes the class 
may have made. 

A motion to fix the manner of voting can be used on 
any question, but can be neither debated nor amended. 

The previous question is moved in order to stop 
debate. It requires a two-thirds vote to pass and can- 
not be debated, amended, or applied to more than one 
question at a time. The previous question does not 
necessarily force a vote—the principal question may be 
tabled or referred to a department head or committee. 
A motion to refer the question may be debated. 

When it is desired to postpone action upon a ques- 
tion after discussion has taken place, a motion may 
be made to “‘lay it on the table,” which may be for a 
definite time or indefinitely. If tabled indefinitely it 
is virtually killing the proposition, a motion to take 
from the table being necessary to bring it before the 
class for discussion. If it is desired to postpone action 
before discussion, a motion to postpone for a definite 
or indefinite time is required. 

A member may at any time move for the reconsid- 
eration of a question already acted on by the class. 
This motion should be proposed by a member of the 


Executive Leadership 1n the Class 145 


prevailing side at the time the question was first con- 
sidered, but cannot be made during the same meeting. 

In order to permit special action which may be 
contrary to the class by-laws or constitution, the class 
may, by a two-thirds vote, move to suspend its rules. 
This motion cannot be amended nor debated. 

A motion for adjournment may be made against any 
question before the assembly, but not while a member 
is on the floor. In case of failure of the motion, it 
cannot be renewed until progress has been made. This 
motion may be debated as a principal question only if 
the time of the next meeting has not been set. 

A member may at any time rise to a point of per- 
sonal privilege if she feels that her rights are being 
interfered with, or that an attack is being made on her 
character, or if she desires to be excused from the 
meeting for good reasons. The chair decides the ques- 
tion of privilege, but if it is a case of controversy, the 
assembly must decide the question before business can 
continue. 

If in the judgment of some member a parliamentary 
law or some provision of the class constitution is be- 
ing violated, she should “rise to a point of order.” 
The chair decides whether or not the point is well 
taken, and if it is, calls the offending party to order. 

In all cases of “points of privilege” and “points of 
order,” the members involved may appeal from the 
decision of the chair. In the case of a “point of order” 
the appeal must be seconded. The chair then asks, 
“Shall the decision of the chair stand?” A two-thirds 
vote should be required to overrule any decision of the 
chair. 

When a member desires information about the ques- 


146 The Women’s Class in Action 


tion being discussed or about the parliamentary pro- 
cedure governing the question, she should “rise to a 
point of information.” This point takes rank above 
debate. 

A careful study of these few basic rules of parlia- 
mentary practice will show that they are based on 
common sense business methods, There are of course 
many refinements to the practice given above with 
which the President will gradually become familiar ; 
however, the suggestions given here will enable any 
leader to conduct meetings in proper order and without 
waste of time. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Barclay-Phifer, “Adult Worker and Work,” Ch. VI. 

Blick, “The Adult Department,” Ch. XV. 

Bovard, “Adults in the Sunday School.” 

Howe, “Handbook of Parliamentary Usage.” 

King, “A Practical Parliamentary Guide.” 

Longam, “Parliamentary Rules Made Easy.” 

Morse, “Concerning the Worship Program,” “Sunday 
School Worker,” Dec., 1923. 

Morse, “Building the Worship Program,” “Sunday 
School Worker,” Jan., 1924. 

Robert, J. T., “Primer of Parliamentary Law.” 

Strickland-McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class.” Ist 
Division, Ch. V. 

Strickland, ‘“‘The Class Officers and Their Work.” Pp. 
4-11. 
(Leaflet from Sunday School Board, S. B. C.) 

Tralle, “Psychology of Leadership.” 

Wells, “The Ideal Adult Class,” Ch. X. 

mane 4), iia bes. Jat OR Kt « 

“tor Things 1o1 Bible Classes Are Doing.” 

(Leaflets—International S. S. Council.) 


Executive Leadership in the Class 147 
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


1. What may be said in favor of the class meeting for 
opening worship with the department of which it is a 
part? What in favor of a separate class program? 

2. Do you have successful business meetings? What 
makes them successful? If not successful, wherein do 
they fall short? How may that condition be bettered? 

3. Do you agree with the author’s contention that 
eaters should not be discussed at the Sunday session? 

ys 


CHAPTER IX 


SER VIGEVACTIVITNTIRS SOR ntiis 
WOMEN’S BIBLE CLASS 


| omer: the lessons taught in the women’s Bible 
class are put into definite practice in the field of 
Christian activity, the class cannot be truly called suc- 
cessful. The trouble with all too many of our 
struggling adult Bible classes is that they are “dead 
spiritually,” as the late Dr. Cope said, “from emo- 
tional dyspepsia.” * The members sit and listen to a 
lesson presentation or to an inspirational message, and 
go away. The next Sunday they come and sit again. 
To quote from Dr. Cope once more, “When God calls 
for deeds on earth, definitions of heaven will not be 
accepted as substitutes.”’ 

In the departmental plan of class organization the 
President will be in general charge of the service ac- 
tivities—she will, in a sense, be a spiritual co-leader 
with the Teacher. Some classes have found it de- 
sirable to elect a Vice-President to take charge of this 
work; even then the President will see in class service 
her great opportunity to develop the class in its in- 
fluence. 


I, SERVING THE MEMBERSHIP 


Class service begins with service to the class mem- 
bers—not in the narrow sense based on the selfish 


1 Cope, “Principles of Christian Service.” 
14 


Service Activities 149 


fallacy that “‘charity begins at home,” but in the broad 
spirit of Christian fellowship. The first duty of the 
class is to develop its individual members so that they 
may become more capable Christian workers. 


Evangelistic Efforts 


Before Christian activity can be expected, the class 
must bring its members to personal acceptance of Jesus 
Christ. Personal evangelism will, therefore, be the 
prime aim of the women’s Bible class—that is the first 
step toward active Christian service—toward the goal 
of a great women’s class. There is nothing, more- 
over, mysterious about personal evangelism—it is 
simply starting at home to fulfill Christ’s last com- 
mand. Winning members to Christ should be con- 
sidered an every week obligation—not just a once-a- 
year revivalistic spree. Revivalism is just one method 
of evangelism. 

Contrary to common belief, women are willing to 
discuss their soul’s relation to Christ. In the past we 
have probably been too timid in broaching this sub- 
ject. A consistent prayer life, a knowledge of Christ’s 
teachings, and understanding of their application to 
modern life, tact and infinite patience are the chief 
requisites of a successful women’s class evangelist. 
Through her assistants the President will secure 
definite information about the unsaved women of the 
class, their habits and their attitudes toward Christian 
profession. It is then comparatively easy to speak of 
becoming a Christian. 

A large share of the responsibility for class evan- 
gelism naturally devolves on the Teacher. As long 
as there is one woman in the class who is not a pro- 


150 The Women’s Class in Action 


fessed Christian, the Teacher should endeavor to de- 
velop one evangelistic thought in each lesson, One 
complication in this work of the class is due to the fact 
that there are to-day in Bible classes all over the land 
many women who are, in their daily lives, conducting 
themselves according to the highest Christian ideals, 
but who are not members of a church. The Teacher 
has a splendid opportunity to stress the value of church 
membership as a public declaration of principles and 
to unite the efforts of those interested in building 
Christian communities. 

A Secret Prayer Circle is one of the best evangelistic 
assets that any class can have. This circle is composed 
of an intimate group of workers, meeting once a month 
under the direction of the President in prayer for the 
unsaved members of the class. The class as a whole 
knows nothing of the circle. Sometimes it is possible 
to have two or more prayer circles at one time, none of 
which know of the existence of the other. The meet- 
ings of the prayer circle need not be long; several min- 
utes immediately following the Sunday morning. class 
meeting will suffice. Some circles, however, hold reg- 
ular meetings in the members’ homes. The group 
should pray individually for individuals. Evangelistic 
effort backed by the sincere prayers of the Christian 
members of the class is bound to result in an awakened 
spiritual consciousness. 

Evangelistic efforts in the community contribute 
toward the accomplishment of the class evangelistic 
aim. The class should support them heartily. 
Women’s Bible classes can be of great assistance in 
the case of revival meetings. The President should 
aim to fit the work of the class into these larger plans. 


Service Activities — 151 


She should be a personal assistant to the Pastor, help- 
ing him with the evangelistic work among the women 
of the church, church school and community, dis- 
tributing tracts, assisting, through special helpers, in 
the visiting, and speaking to visitors to the services. 
In the class she should encourage regular church at- 
tendance and regular attendance at prayer meeting. 
The thought of Jesus Christ and the service we owe 
Him should always be uppermost in the mind of the 
class President. 


Class Days 


Annual class days, sometimes designated ““Women’s 
Day,” ““Amoma Day,” “Fidelis Day,” or the like, have 
a decided evangelistic significance and are regular fea- 
tures of the annual programs of many classes of 
women. While the executive board develops the gen- 
eral plans, they are carried out under the personal 
supervision of the President. On this special class 
day, which is often the anniversary of the class organi- 
zation, and frequently a class rally day, extra effort is 
made to secure a large attendance of women at all 
services. 

A typical women’s class-day program would con- 
sist of : 

1. Church school worship in charge of the class; 

2. Special sermon by the pastor to the women at the 
morning preaching service; 

3. Evening service conducted by the class. 

The evening class service should be built around one 
definite theme, each of three or four members of the 
class speaking on one phase of the general topic. The 
devotional reading, prayers, songs and special music 


152 The Women’s Class in Action 


should likewise center about the main theme. The 
President should preside at this meeting and may be 
one of the speakers. 

Usually the class sits together in one section of the 
church auditorium for these special services. It is 
effective to have the entire group of women march to 
their reserved section at the opening of the meeting, 
either to a processional played on the organ, or as the 
whole body sings a hymn in march time, such as 
“Onward, Christian Soldiers.” 

During the absence of the pastor the Women’s Class 
of the Arlington Christian Church, Lexington, Ky., 
took entire charge of the morning preaching service, 
presenting the following program: 

Hymn. 

Invocation. 

Scripture lesson. 

Prayer. 

Hymn. 

Observance of the Lord’s Supper. 

Announcements. 

Offering. 

Soprano and Alto duet. 

Sermon: “God’s Great Woman.’ 

Invitation Hymn. 

Benediction. 

Every part of the service was handled with grace 
and dignity by the women. Class members acted as 
ushers, the class President presided at the communion 
service, assisted by another member and four women 
who acted as deacons, and the special music, Scripture 
reading, prayers and sermon were effectively cared for 
by still other members, 


Service Activities 153 


Begin preparation for class-day services well in 
advance of the day on which the program is to be 
presented. Consider every point thoroughly so that all 
participants know exactly what they are to do. After 
the assignment of parts to the women who are to speak 
several weeks should be allowed for preliminary study. 
Then there should be two or three meetings of the 
participants to pray over and discuss the talks so as 
to develop the strongest points within the ten- or 
twelve-minute time limit, and to prevent the over- 
lapping of thoughts. All talks should converge toward 
the final talk, which should be in the nature of an 
invitation to greater service for Jesus Christ. 

The following topics are a few suitable for pres- 
entation at a women’s class-day church service: 

1. Christian Fellowship 

a. Fellowship with Jesus, the basis of all 
fellowship ; 
b. Fellowship in the class; 
c. Fellowship in the community; 
d. World fellowship. 
2. Woman’s Sphere in Christian Life 
a. The home; 
b. The church; 
c. The community; 
d. The business woman, 
3. Christian Service 
a. Love; 
b. Sacrifice; 
c. Training; 
d. The call to service. 
4. The Christian Home 
a. Christ’s conception of the home; 


154 The Women’s Class in Action 


b. The Christian’s duty as a parent; 
c. How the church and home can work to- 
gether. 

Results from class-day services are far-reaching. 
Such meetings serve to make the class more widely 
known; they stimulate enthusiasm and interest; they 
give members a new vision of Christian service which 
enriches home, church and community life. When such 
meetings are carefully planned it is rarely that some 
member does not make a public profession of Christ 
as the climax to the service. An annual class day 
should by all means be part of the class evangelistic 
program. 


Reaching the Home 


The truly successful women’s Bible class will not be 
satisfied merely to accept those members who come to 
the class sessions—it will extend its ministry into 
the home in order to reach those who cannot attend 
regular class meetings. This might include mothers 
who find it impossible to come out every Sunday, 
nurses, waitresses, cashiers in restaurants, telephone 
operators and others who must work Sundays, and 
often those who, because of age or ill-health, are 
unable to leave their homes. As the members of the 
women’s class largely represent homes, this organi- 
zation is ideally situated to reach the home most 
effectively. 

In some churches those who cannot attend regular 
services are reached, or partially reached, through the 
Home Department. Where there are Home Depart- 
ments functioning adequately it is not advisable that the 
women’s class duplicate the work—it should rather co- 
operate with the existing agencies that are reaching the 


Service Activities 155 


home. In that case certain members of the class may 
be regularly appointed Home Department visitors who 
will care for those who should logically belong to that 
particular class. 

Extension members of the women’s class will be of 
two groups—those who can attend part of the time 
and those who will practically never attend. It is 
desirable that those of the first group be supplied the 
regular lesson texts used by the class, so that at all 
times when they do attend, they will feel definitely a 
part of the organization. The second group of ex- 
tension members should be supplied texts to fit the 
expressed needs of the various individuals. Some 
women will undoubtedly want a course requiring mini- 
mum effort; for them the denomination’s regular Home 
Department literature will probably be most satisfac- 
tory. Others, again, will desire to do more thorough 
work and will enjoy studying texts such as the Uni- 
versity of Chicago Outline Study Courses. 

Service to the home will also frequently include the 
organizing of special study groups to study ways of 
becoming’ more capable parents and home makers. 
Every class of home women should have at least one 
course of parent study each year. 


Fellowship 


A spirit of general helpfulness among the members 
is the first expression of intra-class service. ‘This fel- 
lowship feeling should permeate the class at all times 
and will show itself concretely whenever a member 
needs sympathy or encouragement. During times of 
illness of members or their families the class has special 
opportunity to prove with visits and helpful acts that 
it really cares about its members. Some classes of 


156 The Women’s Class in Action 


business women conduct employment service for the 
benefit of those in need of work. This service is fre- 
quently rendered in codperation with a local Y.W.C.A. 
or similar organization. 


II. SERVING THE CHURCH SCHOOL 


Reaching out beyond itself, the women’s Bible class 
should have as one of its ideals the rendering of defi- 
nite service to the church school of which it is a part. 


Home Depariment 


As suggested in the preceding section, the Home 
Department is a logical field of service in which many 
women’s Bible classes are engaged. The Amoma 
Class of the Maplewood (Mo.) Baptist Church School, 
discovering that because of the lack of leadership the 
Home Department of its school was slowly dying, vol- 
unteered to accept the responsibility for its operation. 
One member of the class was made responsible as 
Home Department Superintendent. Other members 
acted as Visitors. 

The present writer foresees the time when the Home 
Department of to-day, conducted separate from other 
departments of the school, will have passed away. In 
that day the work now being done by that department 
will be done more effectively by the extension organi- 
zation of the Adult Department of the Church by all 
the adult classes working together. 


Cradle Roll 


If the school has not yet seen the vision of possi- 
bilities of the Cradle Roll and the Cradle Roll Class, 


Service Activities 157 


the women’s class may well blaze the trail. Many 
classes have taken upon themselves the responsibility 
for this work—a logical step again, because of the 
mothers’ interest in the children in the homes. 


Teacher Training 


The women’s class can also encourage the develop- 
ment of a trained teaching ministry. By a judicious 
selection of study courses, the class can give its mem- 
bers a comprehensive background of biblical knowl- 
edge. Special study groups to study psychology and 
pedagogy may then be planned for those definitely in- 
terested in teaching, these groups meeting at an hour 
outside of the regular lesson period or, if desirable, at 
the same hour in a separate room. A class with the 
teacher training ideal before it could build such a group 
of at least partially trained leaders that the school 
Superintendent would have one worry lifted from his 
already overburdened shoulders. The class should re- 
joice when a member is selected for this larger school 
service. 

A word of caution may not be amiss right here: 
don’t undertake a service already being cared for prop- 
erly by other groups. One class of women, with a 
commendable zeal for service, decided to organize a 
Cradle Roll of babies within their class—in spite of 
the fact that the school already had a well-organized 
Cradle Roll and Cradle Roll class reaching those very 
babies. The school Superintendent naturally protested 
and suggested other forms of service. Service to be 
worth anything must fill a need—not merely fill in a 
place in class records of activities. 


158 The Women’s Class in Action 
School Worship 


From time to time the various classes of the Adult 
Department may be asked to take charge of school 
worship programs. Such requests are real opportuni- 
ties for the class to serve the school by presenting defi- 
nite programs of worship instead of just “opening 
exercises.” Base the program on a definite theme, 
let it include song, Scripture, prayer, story or talk, and 
offering, and let it be joyful and reverent in spirit. 


Conventions 


The women’s class may send a delegate to adult 
class or church school conventions and institutes so 
that she may bring back new ideas for use in the local 
school, An investment of this sort pays big dividends. 


Equipment 

Many classes get great joy from the regular presen- 
tation to the church school of class gifts of needed 
equipment; e.g., equipment for the Cradle Roll, Be- 
ginners’ or Primary room, sand table, stereopticon, 
nursery equipment, maps, library, record board, bulle- 
tin board, and the like. 


III. SERVING THE CHURCH 


Conducting Services 


Since the church school is a definite part of the 
church it follows that the women’s class will see beyond 


itself and the school and render service to the church - 


which includes both. As has already been suggested, 
the class may occasionally conduct regular preaching 


Service Activities 159 


services—class days, Mother’s Day and similar special 
days may be observed in that way. 


Music 

The church choir offers exceptional opportunity for 
the class to serve the whole church—either through 
musical leadership the class has discovered or devel- 
oped or simply through choir membership. 


Serving Suppers, Etc. 


Although hard work, the serving of church suppers, 
or handling the refreshments for the men’s class, or 
the brotherhood, are of decided value in developing the 
social side of church life. The class that accepts the 
responsibility for such needed service may feel sure 
that the work will pay in spiritual results. 


House Committee 


If the church has no regularly appointed house com- 
mittee the women’s class may well accept this obliga- 
tion. A good committee of women can make a val- 
uable contribution to the church by seeing that the 
building is properly cleaned, arranged in an orderly 
manner, and decorated so as to appeal to the highest 
esthetic senses of those attending. 


Visitation 

Church visitation is a fertile field of service for a 
class of women. No church can afford to employ 
enough visitors to care for all visitation. Small 
churches rarely have even one visitor on salary. A 
fair-sized class of women can assume a large share 


160 The Women’s Class in Action 


of this burden and make their class, the school and the 
church loom up stronger in the eyes of those in the 
community. One class of forty members (Compton 
Heights Christian Church, St. Louis) in one year made 
560 calls! It is safe to say that that class counted for 
something in both the church and community. 


Financial Support 

Church members in the class are naturally expected 
to contribute of their means to the support of the 
church. In addition to this, many women’s classes 
make definite pledges to church building funds, organ 
funds, etc. 


Nursery 


By conducting a nursery during the hour of preach- 
ing, a number of classes make it possible for mothers 
to enjoy the service without the disturbance of crying 
babies. Usually the members alternate in taking 
charge of this feature of the work. 


IV. SERVING THE HOME 

Extension Ministry 

All women are fundamentally interested in the home. 
A majority of members of the women’s class will 
usually represent homes. It is logical then that the 
women’s class should extend its sphere of service into 
the home. This may be done through Home and Ex- 
tension Departments and Cradle Rolls as already out- 
lined. 

The home may also be served by the display of 
genuine interest in what is happening in the Junior 


Service Activities —sW*iW*‘G I. 


Department, the Intermediate Department, and the 
Young People’s Department. No class should be satis- 
fied to know just what is going on in its own class or 
department—the entire school is a field where seeds 
of service may be sown—and a harvest of Christian 
homes result. 


Lectures 


Classes in a large number of churches reach many 
of the more interested homes of the community 
through monthly home-making lectures which are free 
to all who will come. Not only is child training dis- 
cussed but also such topics as “Budgeting,” “Home 
Decoration,” “Music, Art and Literature in the Home,” 
etc. Where the meetings are well planned, they are 
usually largely attended. 


Parent Discussion Groups 


The women’s class is an ideal organization to arrange 
for parent study or discussion groups. The class may 
offer a short course of parent study as part of its regu- 
lar curriculum, or it may organize special groups for 
the purpose of discussing home-making problems. 
Every church should provide parent-problem courses 
of this nature if it hopes to develop efficient Christian 
homes. We send boys to college for four years to 
study hog raising. Isa child worth as much as a hog? 
How many parents spend even four weeks studying 
the nature of the child? If the class thinks that chil- 
dren are worth more than hogs, the parent-problem 
group is a concrete way of expressing its belief. 

In connection with such discussion groups and home- 
making lectures, or as part of the school’s annual 


162 The Women’s Class in Action 


promotion-day exhibit, the class may sponsor a child 
welfare display—charts, pictures, diagrams, etc. The 
National Child Welfare Association is in position to 
furnish some excellent material at reasonable cost. 


Mothers and Daughters 


To encourage a closer comradeship between mothers 
and daughters is a task well worth the best efforts of 
the women’s class. ‘The mother-and-daughter banquet 
is one way for the class to encourage this closer rela- 
tionship—by promoting the banquet and planning a 
worth-while program, 


V. SERVING THE COMMUNITY 


The class that fulfills its ultimate mission is reach- 
ing out daily into the church, the community, the world, 
in an endeavor to serve. ‘These service activities are 
more truly religious and spiritual than even the lesson 
itself, for they are the living of the lesson. The class 
President should be familiar with conditions existing 
in the community and should direct the community 
service of the organization. 


Get the Facts 


A survey of the community, which may be made 
in cooperation with the men’s classes, or with all the 
adult classes in the local churches, will show a tre- 
mendous field of possible endeavor—law enforcement, 
regulation of pool and dance halls, elimination of dis- 
orderly houses, securing better housing conditions, 
correcting influences that contribute to juvenile de- 
linquency, agitating for clean amusements, etc. When 


Service Activities 163 


all the women’s classes of a community join forces to 
build a cleaner, more nearly Christian, city, town or 
county, there is no influence strong enough to with- 
stand their forward movement. 


Creating Law Enforcement Sentiment 


Right now, in every community, one of the biggest 
tasks before the Christian women is securing the en- 
forcement of the prohibition laws. The eighteenth 
amendment was written into the constitution largely 
through the efforts of the nation’s consecrated women 
—and the women of the organized Bible classes of 
America are strong enough to see that the enforcement 
laws are obeyed. If the Christians will talk enforce- 
ment and the benefits of prohibition as loudly as the 
opposition snort “light wines and beer” the complexion 
of public sentiment will be of a different hue.’ 

Some classes enlist public officials to address spe- 
cial meetings, as a step in the direction of securing 
greater respect for law. For example, one class 
secured the Mayor of their city to speak on the topic, 
“What This Class Can Do to Help Me.” 


Mission Schools 


Quite a large number of women’s Bible classes 
supply workers for mission Sunday schools. Indeed, 
some classes, recognizing a need in particular sec- 
tions, have actually gone into those communities, or- 
ganized mission schools, raised the money to conduct 
them, and furnished the entire working staff. 


Americamezation and Social Service 
Still other classes of women are active in promoting 


164 The Women’s Class in Action 


Americanization work in their communities, either in- 
dependently or more often in codperation with other 
classes or with some organization such as_ the 
Y.W.C.A. In the cities social centers offer oppor- 
tunities for Christian service suited to all tastes— 
financial aid, Bible teaching, recreational leadership of 
girls, mother club leadership, kindergarten activities, 
teaching of sewing or music, choir service or musical 
leadership, and supplying needed items of equipment. 


The Aged and Orphaned 


Orphans and helpless old people are both particularly 
appealing to women’s classes—and sufficiently numer- 
ous to challenge the attention of all women’s organi- 
zations in the churches. The writer is thinking of one 
county old folks’ home in a rural community in Mis- 
souri. Here live a group of aged men in indescribably 
filthy surroundings, with inadequate, insanitary bed- 
ding, using soap boxes for chairs and tables, and re- 
ceiving one cooked meal a day. Yet within six miles 
are two towns, each boasting of several adult Bible 
classes! And this is not an exceptional case at all. 
Is your class missing some of these fine opportunities 
to serve? 

The members of one women’s class take turns in 
baking cakes for the inmates of their denomination’s 
old folks’ home. Another class paid the $300 entrance 
fee of an elderly woman to a private home. Other 
classes cooperate with such homes by sending eggs, 
clothing and money. 

Even the most modern orphan’s home is still an 
institution which lacks the sympathetic tenderness of 


Service Activities — 165 


a natural home. To many of the orphans this is in a 
measure supplied by the visits of women from our 
Bible classes—women with a vision of what a real 
home means to a little child. Gifts of fruit, candy, 
jellies, etc., are always acceptable at the orphan’s home 
and help spread cheer among the fatherless and mother- 
less children. 

One class of women expressed its love of the child 
by “adopting” a little orphan girl as their own, The 
class bought her clothes and entertained her in the 
homes of the class members at regular intervals, 


Big Sisters 

Many classes cooperate with the Big Sister organ- 
izations—helping some girls fight against obstacles in 
their struggle to live Christian lives—guiding them 
past temptations that surround them and leading them 
into useful womanhood. Classes in the small towns 
and rural districts are ideally situated for this sort of 
service—to bring a girl who has lacked the restraints 
and training of a Christian home out into the whole- 
some environment of blue skies, green grass, solemn 
forests, and pure thoughts. It is this personal ministry 
that marks the truly humble follower of the Great 
Servant, Jesus Christ. 

Furnishing a room in a Big Sisters’ hotel was the 
way one class expressed its codperation with the Big 
Sisters’ Movement. 


Nursing 


At least one class of women has taken up nursing 
as its form of community service. Certain members 


166 The Women’s Class in Action 


made a special study of the fundamentals of nursing, 
and then pledged themselves to serve in any emergency 
for which they might be called. 


Church Vacation Schools 


The church vacation school should be a vital link 
in every community’s program of religious education. 
In many classes the vacation school exists because the 
women’s class was sufficiently interested to push the 
idea. If your church has not yet seen the possibilities 
of fifty more hours of religious instruction at a time 
when the boys and girls are exposed to the dangers 
of idleness, your class can render the church and com- 
munity inestimable service by studying the church 
vacation school plan and creating local sentiment for 
such a school. Many of the class members will nat- 
urally find places on the working staff of the school. 


Lyceum Courses, Open Meetings, Etc. 


A class of women in a suburban church, cooperat- 
ing with the women’s societies, presented a lyceum 
course of high class entertainment—unquestionably a 
worth-while contribution to community life in a day 
when salaciousness seems to be the chief commodity 
offered by commercial amusement interests. This same 
class holds occasional open meetings and invites the 
women of the neighborhood. One purpose of these 
meetings, of course, is to make the class and its work 
better known, but the chief purpose is to give those 
women some message about home building that they 
would not receive otherwise. 

In a few cases classes have conducted community 


Service Activities 167 


sings or concerts on the church steps, in this way 
helping to develop a community consciousness. 


Community Social Rooms 


The girl from the country is usually left to shift 
for herself when she comes to the city. In every 
metropolitan center there is opportunity after op- 
portunity for thoroughly interested classes of women 
to establish social rooms where those girls may spend 
evenings amid congenial surroundings. 

The casual observer will see in an evening hundreds 
of automobiles parked in the public parks and along 
country roads—and draw sinister conclusions. In 
many cases he is right; in others he is not, for a large 
number of the girls in those automobiles are there 
because they have no place of their own where they 
can entertain their young men friends. That’s a 
church problem if there ever was one—and a problem 
for the women of the churches. 

Read the “Letters from the People” column of the 
city dailies. One of the frequent themes of those 
letters is the loneliness of a girl—or a boy—among 
strangers. Although many churches are withdrawing 
from the down-town sections of our cities where they 
are most needed, the women’s class or groups of such 
classes can go back down town and establish a friendly 
retreat for the lonely—yes, “spooning parlors,” if you 
please. It is infinitely to be preferred that our young 
people do their spooning in a church building than in 
an automobile by the side of the road. 


Women’s Class Council 


In raising community standards the codperative 


168 The Women’s Class in Action 


effort of all the women’s classes is much more power- 
ful than that of any one class working alone. It is 
desirable that the classes be banded together into a 
women’s class council for community service. The 
class may well delegate to this council, which is com- 
posed of representatives of all the classes, the plan- 
ning of general community activities such as law en- 
forcement, etc. For details regarding the organiza- 
tion of a council, program suggestions, etc., write 
your state Sunday school council or the International 
Sunday School Council of Religious Education. 


VI. THE FIELD IS THE WORLD 


The class should “begin at Jerusalem” in its service 
activities, but it should also develop a vision of its 
world-wide obligations. The President should keep 
in touch with the missionary activities of her church 
and church school, and strive to develop a missionary 
spirit among the class members. 


Mission Study 


At least one mission study course annually should be 
part of the class curriculum. To be interested in King- 
dom extension requires an informed membership. It 
is much more important that we know what fruit 
Christ’s teachings have borne, and are now bearing, 
than that we know the order of the kings of Israel 
and Judah. 


School of Missions 


The class mission study may logically develop into 
an annual church school of missions for all members 


Service Activities 169 


of all ages. Sometimes a school of this kind meets 
every night for a week; sometimes once a week for 
six or eight weeks. Schools of missions are frequently 
held during a series of Wednesday evenings or Sun- 
day evenings. Graded study courses, lectures, pageants 
and exhibits compose the usual program. For details 
write your denominational board. 


Class Missionaries 


At some time or other most of our present-day mis- 
sionaries were members of some Bible class. In the 
class leadership and teaching the missionary motive 
should be emphasized constantly. We should seek 
decisions for life service just as we seek them for 
church membership. 

Even though no member of the class has gone out 
aS a missionary, every class may have a definite part 
in the support of one or more foreign workers. Some 
classes even support entire mission stations. The 
mission boards have made it possible for classes that 
can give as little as ten dollars a year to have part in 
some specific missionary enterprise through the sta- 
tion plan. Shares in mission stations are issued to the 
contributing class, which then feels a personal interest 
in the station chosen. Letters are received periodically 
from the missionaries at the station, pictures of the 
station activities may be obtained and descriptive lit- 
erature distributed. Such definite missionary work, 
plus the regular mission study courses, will create a 
permanent, living interest in world-wide evangelism. 


170 The Women’s Class in Action 


VII. SERVICE ACTIVITIES OF INDIVIDUAL CLASSES 


No one class of women will be likely to engage in 
all the forms of service suggested here. Each class 
must study its church and community and decide for 
itself where it can best apply the teachings of the les- 
sons to life situations. Every organized class of 
women, however, should engage in some Christian 
service—and should start serving as soon as organized. 

An excellent example of what a class can do is found 
in the Christian Home-Makers of the Webster Groves, 
Mo., Baptist Church. This class was organized Octo- 
ber 1, 1922. At the time of this report, one year later, 
thirty women were enrolled and the average Sunday 
attendance was sixteen. During this first year of their 
organized life here is what they did: conducted a series 
of home-making conferences, with addresses by compe- 
tent authorities, these being open to the women of 
the community; contributed liberally to the church 
building and organ fund; visited new residents in their 
neighborhood; served dinners to the Men’s Brother- 
hood; presented a lyceum course in connection with 
the Ladies’ Aid Society and the Women’s Missionary 
Union. 

And here’s another—a class of eight young women. 
Their service program includes sending flowers to sick 
members, visiting absentees, conducting department 
worship on occasions, planning special day exercises, 
supplying regular and substitute teachers to the school, 
attending preaching service in a body, supplying flowers 
for the altar, conducting home prayer meetings, send- 
ing clothing to needy families, codperating with the 
community Daily Vacation Bible School financially and 


Service Activities : 171 


with workers, mission study and mission offerings. 

According to their pastor, the Women’s Class of 
the Arlington Christian Church, previously mentioned, 
has been a mighty factor in the church’s growth from 
129 to 335 members in less than two years. ‘This 
class took a religious census of their community, con- 
ducted a Sunday afternoon visitation, assisted in gath- 
ering news for the church paper, helped distribute the 
paper, supplied substitute teachers for the church 
school, produced an original play, “Our Village 
School,’”’ purchased a baptismal suit and hymn books 
for the church and financed a church school picnic. 
In addition the class President has served both as 
missionary superintendent and adult department super- 
intendent for the school. ‘I can count on this class,” 
continues Pastor Burton L. Hoffman, “for any task 
that presents itself.” 

These classes are not unusual as far as the members 
are concerned—they may be considered in all respects 
typical women’s Bible classes—except one: they have 
the broader vision of the ultimate purpose of Bible 
class study. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Agar, “Church Officers.” 

Agar, ‘Democracy and the Church.” 

Barclay-Phifer, “The Adult Worker and Work,” Chs. XI, 
XIII, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX. 

Blick, “The Adult Department,’ Ch. XIII, XIV, XV, 
XVI. 

Bovard, “Adults in the Sunday School,” Ch. VIII, 
EXWRS 

Burroughs, “Winning to Christ.” 

Cope, “Principles of Christian Service.” 


172 The Women’s Class in Action 


Darsie, “The Art of Winning Folks.” 

Gage, “The Church Vacation School.” 

Herbrecht, “The Extension Division of the Church 
School.” 

Hutchins, “Graded Social Service in the Sunday School.” 

Mathews, “Individual and Social Gospel.” 

Morse, “Concerning Worship Programs” (Sunday School 
Worker, Dec., 1923). 

Morse, “Building the Worship Program” (Sunday School 
Worker, January, 1924). 

Morse, “Vitalizing the Adult Class” (Westminster Adult 
Bible Class, March, April, May, 1926). 

Rust, “The Church a Field of Service.’ 

Strickland-McGlothlin, ‘Building the Bible Class,” Div. 
Livohe VIL 

Spurgeon, “The Soul Winner.” 

Trumbull, “Individual Work for Individuals.” 

Also free leaflets from your denominational boards, and 
leaflets from state and International S. S. Councils. 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


1. In what way is your class serving 
(a) Its members? 
(b) Its school? 
(c) Its church? 
(d) The home? 
(e) The community ? 
(f) In a world-wide way? 

2. If your class is not serving, why not? 

3. List some unmet needs in your church and com- 
munity. To what extent can your class meet them? 

4. Suggest some forms of service that can be done 
better by all the women’s classes joined into a council 
than by the individual classes? 

5. What holds women to a class best, eloquent lesson 
presentation or a worth-while service program? Why? 


CHAPTER X 
BUILDING CLASS MEMBERSHIP 


Ae. the departmental plan of organization the Vice- 
president has a very definite and most important 
task to accomplish—bringing in new members. Too 
often this office is considered a sinecure and a good 
worker is lost to service. The Vice-President should 
aim to make the initials of her office, V-P, mean, “val- 
uable person,” and not “very poor” as is so often the 
case. 


I, QUALIFICATIONS OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT 


In general, the Vice-President should have the same 
qualities of leadership as the President. Her work 
should be characterized by a spirit of strong, quiet 
perseverance, backed by an attractive personality. She 
must be convincingly friendly and should make a 
spirit of genuine welcome and a feeling of cheer fill 
the class room. 


II. DUTIES AS CLASS RECRUITING OFFICER 


Sunday Morning Welcome 


The Vice-President should be the first person present 
at the Sunday morning class sessions, so that she may 
welcome strangers and also give the hand of fellow- 


ship to the regular members as they arrive. If the 
173 


174. The Women’s Class in Action 


class is a large one, she may use several assistants, sta- 
tioning one or more at the various entrances to the 
school assembly room and the class room. The first 
impression made upon a visitor is often the means of 
winning her for a member. If that impression is un- 
favorable, the woman may be lost not only from the 
class, but also from the service of Christ. This phase 
of the class work should under no condition suffer 
neglect. 


Making the Members Acquainted With 
Fach Other 


The Vice-President should seek to make every 
woman present acquainted with every other woman. 
One large woman’s class has a reception line of women 
who are assistants to the Vice-President. These 
women are on hand to greet members, new and old, 
each week. Every class can have at least one member 
in the class room or at the general school entrance to 
act as a welcome committee. 

Special attention should be given to this phase of 
class work at the close of the session. At that time 
an observer will see something like this happen: after 
the closing prayer, there will be for a moment an 
appearance of general commotion—women moving 
around, shoving chairs, etc. This apparent chaos will 
then gradually resolve itself into a number of groups 
drawn together by some common interest. Outside of 
these groups there will usually be several individuals 
who either because of timidity or because they are 
strangers will be left by themselves. The Vice-presi- | 
dent and her assistants should be on the lookout for 
those women and see that they are directed to one of 


Building Class Membership 175 


the groups or are engaged in conversation by assistants 
during the few social moments that remain before 
church service. The final impression must be equally 
favorable with the first impression. To gain members 
a class must show itself friendly. 

It is more difficult for all members to know each 
other in large classes than in smaller ones. Some 
classes solve the problem by furnishing each mem- 
ber a large celluloid button upon which her name is 
written. Between sessions the buttons are filed on 
boards—easily accessible to the women as they arrive 
at the class room. ‘This makes it possible for the 
members to call each other by name—quite a step in 
itself toward more informal fellowship. 


Follow-up of Visitors 

Every visitor who attends class should be “‘fol- 
lowed” with a view to making her a regular attendant. 
It is the duty of one of the Vice-President’s assistants 
to secure the names, addresses, whether married or 
single, in business, school or home, etc., from all visi- 
tors who attend. Ifa visitor is permanently located in 
the community, every effort should be made to turn her 
into a regular member. During the week following her 
first visit to the class, a card or letter should be mailed, 
stating that the class was glad that she met with them 
on the preceding Sunday, and expressing the hope 
that she liked the session well enough to return the 
following Sunday. The letters should be followed by 
phone and personal calls until the prospect either joins 
the class or some other class or moves out of town. 
If the visitor is a transient, the card or letter should be 
sent her anyway. Some classes mail all visitors a 


176 The Women’s Class in Action 


copy of the class bulletin or paper for two weeks fol- 
lowing their visits to the class. Such visitors usually 
carry the story of the class and its methods back to their 
homes and their own classes. 


Hisitors Record. 


Bate.......... OF OOO ve ORE BOOP Ses Oe Coe HOF OHS EES COTESNES * 2S E Cre Teese Teel OOS OTe TOSEs MHECSEEE 


Ee ee ee ek Ne Od a 
ADDTORS ee AN et eee cee Oe ee 
Sonday School Connection, f any ee nese 


Bo you utiah to gote tye Db cee 
Mi racrsvle rte 3 Ye se ee 





TIGURE I—VISITOR’S ATTENDANCE RECORD! TURNED OVER TO VICE- 
PRESIDENT BY THE CLASS SECRETARY 


III. RECRUITING METHODS 


While cards, letters, phone calls, circulars, posters 
and paid advertisments are important in class recruit- 
ing, as will be pointed out in the chapter on publicity 
methods, the surest method of building class mem- 
bership is by the personal touch. It is impossible for 
any one officer to make all the calls required. The 
Vice-President must have a large corps of assistants to 
help in the work, and also the complete codperation of 
the entire class membership. 


Building Class Membership 117 


The “One-at-a-Time”’ Plan 

Wishing that the class had a large membership does. 
not bring in members; neither does complaining that 
the women will not come out. There is just one way 
to get women into the class—go and get them. By 
the “One-at-a-time” plan, first described by Marshall 
Hudson,’ it is possible to build up the class membership 


“COME THOU WITH US AND WE WILL DO THEE GOOD” 


ANCHOR CLASS 
CENTENARY METHODIST CHURCH 
16TH & PINE STREETS 


FOR YOUNG WOMEN, MARRIED OR SINGLE 


CLASS MEETS EVERY SUNDAY MORNING AT 9715 


PERSONALLY INVITED BY 





FIGURE 2—A CLASS INVITATION CARD 


more quickly than by any other method, and yet no 
one member will be overworked. By this plan attend- 
ance is more easily maintained—the members who are 
brought in come to stay and to work. 

When using the “One-at-a-time” method, the Vice- 
President is what an officer should be—the director. 
At least two-thirds of the class members should be 
at the disposal of the Vice-President for recruiting. 
These members are divided into teams of seven women 

1 Hudson, “The ‘How’ Book.” 


178 The Women’s Class in Action 


each. The other third of the class is divided in the 
same way, but is under the direction of the class at- 
tendance maintaining officer whose work will be dis- 
cussed in the following chapter. These two officers, 
the Vice-President and the Visitor, should work to- 
gether, alternating groups, so that all members will 
work on prospects for part of the time and on old 
members for part of the time. 

To each team is assigned each week the name of one 
woman whom it is desired to bring into the class. 
Each member of the team is assigned one day on 
which she is to visit her group’s prospects. One 
woman will call on the prospect on Monday, another 
on Tuesday, another on Wednesday and so on through 
the entire week. 

Note now the probable psychologic:effect on the 
prospect. On Monday a class representative calls on 
her at her home or at her place of business and merely 
introduces herself and extends the invitation to visit 
the class. On Tuesday another member will call or 
phone and extend her invitation. On Wednesday the 
prospect will probably tell her third visitor that two 
others have already been to see her. Let that pass; 
don’t say, “Yes, I know it, and there will be three 
more here during the week.” By Thursday the pros- 
pect will become visibly impressed and may even re- 
mark that the class must be pretty much alive; then 
again the prospect may become irritated. Don’t show 
that it has been noticed; and don’t argue; just leave 
the invitation. 

By Saturday the prospect may be willing to say that 
she will ‘come out to-morrow if I get up in time.” 


Building Class Membership 179 


Don’t become elated; this may merely be said to get 
rid of the visitor. The final clincher is the Sunday 
woman, who calls for the prospect about an hour be- 
fore class time and will very likely find her asleep. 
When awakened, she will probably say that she would 
come if she were dressed. Then just remark that she 
has a whole hour to dress and that you are there to 
bring her to class and will wait for her. Nine times 
out of ten the class will get the prospect. 

If with all the efforts of the group you fail to get 
the prospect, what then? Give her up? Not much! 
The next week a second team goes after her and an- 
other the following week if necessary, until she is 
reached or it is definitely known that she will not 
attend. 

If the class is small that need not deter the Vice- 
President from using the plan. If only seven women 
are available, change the order of going after the 
prospect the second week. Let the Monday woman go 
on Wednesday, and so on. In most cases you will 
have gotten your prospect by the end of the second 
week or she will have moved out of town, The great 
beauty of this plan is that it requires no more than 
fifteen minutes of a busy woman’s time, one day a 
week, as the visits are not intended to be lengthy social 
calls. 

Having secured the prospect, assign her at once to a 
group and let her go after some other woman; she 
will enjoy giving some one else the same medicine she 
received, Gradually as the membership increases, more 
groups will be at work and the class will grow corre- 
spondingly. 


180 The Women’s Class in Action 


Now isn’t it reasonable to suppose that by working 
this plan consistently each group could win at least 
one new member each month—only one-fourth of those 
they go after? That would mean an increase of one 
hundred and seventy per cent in the class membership 
in one year! What class is increasing at that rate 
under the haphazard, artificial methods of stimula- 
tion so frequently used? To the leaders who work 
in spurts this plan may seem very slow in producing 
results. To such we say, “Just give it a trial for three 
months and then judge its value. This plan has been 
successful wherever worked.” 


Contests 


Contests may often be used to increase class at- 
tendance, but unless they are based on sound attain- 
ments, they may actually do more harm than good. 
Often in class contests points are allotted on a basis 
of new members, visitors and punctuality. At the end 
of the contest the side receiving the most points is 
usually treated to a banquet by the losers. 

Such a contest will bring in large numbers during 
the period of the contest, but when the artificial stimu- 
lation ends, most of the new members (?) begin to 
drop away. Oh, yes, such members can be held by a 
continuous plan, such as the “One-at-a-time”’ method— 
but why not use this method from the beginning? The 
same amount of effort properly applied will secure more 
permanent results than an “attendance contest” of this 
type. Too often contests such as these are an end 
rather than a means to a bigger end. They frequently 
tempt classes to bring in visitors merely to swell totals, 
and are often sources of dissatisfaction. 


Building Class Membershi 181 


There are, however, legitimate ways in which the 
competitive instincts may be utilized to build up class 
attendance—by making the contest points represent 
accomplishments of permanent value. The ‘“Four- 
Square” Adult Bible Class Campaign, promoted by the 
International Sunday School Council and by the state 
councils, is an almost ideal attendance campaign in con- 
test form. This campaign may be used by one class 
against another, by the classes of one church school 
against the classes of another school, inter-district or 
inter-county. It may be used by classes of all sizes, 
as scoring is on a percentage basis. 

In the “Four-Square’” Campaign, five points credit 
is awarded for each per cent increase in enrollment, 
based on certified, pruned enrollment decided on at the 
start of the campaign. ‘Twenty credits are awarded 
for the first sixty per cent of enrollment present, and 
two per cent for each additional per cent over sixty. 
Visitors do not count—no advantage is gained by in- 
viting entire classes from other schools not in the con- 
test to visit the class during the contest—a practice 
quite common in the old-style contest. One credit is 
given for each per cent of the enrolled membership 
doing at least one-half hour of definite Bible reading 
or study, three credits for each per cent of enrollment 
attending at least one church worship service since 
the previous session of the class, and ten points for 
each one per cent increase in church affiliation of class 
members. 

It will be seen that every member brought into the 
class just to earn points for enrollment and attendance 
becomes a decided liability unless she also does some 
Bible study and attends preaching services. These fea- 


182 The Women’s Class in Action 


tures, which represent highly desirable attainments, are 
the ones which safeguard the class from the objection- 
able features of so many contests. 


Appeal to Pride 


Some classes adopt slogans as incentives to continued 
effort. “Beat last week’ or “Beat last month’ are 
frequently used. A small class in a small Missouri 
town developed until it has an attendance of several 
hundred each week, just by this continued emphasis on 
surpassing the previous month’s record. 


Special Drives 


Special “drives” for members do create temporary 
enthusiasm and have their place in the scheme of class 
activities. Such “flashes” should never be allowed to 
take the place of steady, determined effort on the part 
of the vice-president and her assistants. 

An annual reception to all the women of the com- 
munity, or all the mothers of the community, or all 
the young married folks of the community is a splen- 
did means of making them acquainted with each other 
and with the class. A live speaker and some good 
entertainment and refreshments are provided; the class 
officers make talks telling what the work of the class 
means to them; the Vice-President and her assistants 
are on hand full force and extend personal invitations 
to join the class. Such a reception usually puts the 
class in touch with a number of new prospects who 
should be followed definitely according to the regular 
class plan. 

Annual students’ receptions are held each autumn by 
a number of live classes, and serve to line up those 


Building Class Membership 183 


students from out of town who are attending school 
and college in the city where the class is located. This 
reception not only brings a large number of students 
into the class, but may be turned into real service by 
making strangers feel less strange during the first 
few weeks away from home. 

Anniversaries of the class organization offer oppor- 
tunity for special effort to secure the attendance of all 


Are you Slipping or Climbing? 


Visit the 


Carlson Sunday School Class 


Basement First Methodist Chutch 
wth aad Taylor Streets 


Good Fellowship and Some Helpful, Forceful 
Discussion of the problems of Today. 





FIGURE 3—ANOTHER CLASS INVITATION, INTERESTING AND DIGNIFIED 


former members of the class, and those who have been 
irregular, for a home-coming service. A class reunion 
of this nature may be made genuinely inspirational. 
Usually classes hold anniversary celebrations at inter- 
vals of five to ten years. 

Mother’s Day also lends itself very well to special 
attendance effort. This is an ideal time to go after the 
mothers of the church-school pupils, and to encourage 
the formation of either permanent or temporary parent 
discussion groups. 


184 The Women’s Class in Action 


Miss Jessie Burrall, in her unusual work with 
women, has made large use of special drives. One 
of the favorites in her classes is Twin Sunday. On 
the Sunday set every woman must bring a “twin’— 
some one who does not attend any Bible class. The 
“twins” are given special recognition, and the lesson 
usually has an application to this special situation. It 
is surprising what enthusiasm has been developed when 
this device has been used in the right spirit. 

A variation of this plan is usually used by Miss 
Burrall’s classes on the Sunday nearest to Valentine 
Day. Every woman is then expected to appear with a 
“valentine’—another woman not a class member. 
Those bringing “valentines’’ are presented with special 
favors and participate in a special “valentine” party 
after the meeting. 

The animal plan described in the following chapter 
may also be used in building class membership. 


IV. SOURCES OF PROSPECTS 


The immediate families of the class members may 
well be the starting point in a campaign of member- 
ship increase—the sisters or mothers who are not ac- 
tively engaged in religious work. Class recruiting 
efforts will then naturally extend themselves to the 
homes of the pupils in the church school. The women’s 
classes should be vitally interested in winning the 
mothers to their classes—or in organizing special 
classes for them if it seems desirable. All too few 
mothers of the pupils in the primary, junior and inter- 
mediate departments are connected with the school. 

The church membership should also prove a fruitful 


Building Class Membership 185 


field for a membership harvest. Fifty per cent is prob- 
ably a fair average of the number of church members 
who are in the church school—considering both the 
workers and mere attendants. An examination of the 
church clerk’s records will show the Vice-president that 
here alone is a task to challenge the best efforts of the 
class. 

Visitors to the class and at the church preaching 
services are always possible prospects. The Vice-presi- 
dent will find it worth while to have assistants at both 
the morning and evening preaching services to meet 
such strangers as may be present, and to give them an 
invitation to attend the class. 

After the home base has been thoroughly fortified, 
the class will want to extend its recruiting into the com- 
munity. A religious census of the community will 
reveal a veritable host of unreached folks, many who at 
one time were active church workers. The class will 
probably find it desirable to cooperate with other 
classes in the community, or with the churches in con- 
ducting a community canvass. 

Some classes find it advisable to divide the com- 
munity into districts and to place an assistant Vice- 
president in charge of each one. This district Vice- 
president watches for new families moving into her 
neighborhood, and takes early opportunity to call on 
them and invite the members to the class and to the 
church school. If new women who move into a new 
neighborhood are seen at once, the possibilities of 
securing active workers are greatly increased. See 
them at once, before they get out of the church at- 
tendance habit. 


186 The Women’s Class in Action 


V. SEASONS FOR INGATHERING 


Every class should be at work every week of the year 
according to a consistent plan of recruiting. However, 
there are certain seasons when special, more concen- 
trated effort to bring in those not connected with the 
class can be made to advantage. 

Autumn is a highly desirable time to put forth special 
recruiting effort in connection with the annual class 
or school rally day. It is then that people have re- 
turned from vacations; it is then that many women 
make plans for winter study and other activities; it is, 
in a sense, a settling period, in contrast to the more or 
less informal inactivity of the summer. The class can 
use this season to bring back its old members and also 
to interest new ones with the appeal to come in now 
at the very beginning of the new class year. This is 
an excellent time for the class to offer new study 
courses of timely interest and to advertise them widely, 
urging folks to “start now so as not to miss any 
of the studies.” 

The pre-Easter period is another special season when 
extra emphasis may well be placed on membership in- 
crease. At that season the thoughts of practically all 
Christendom are turned toward Christ and the church. 
Many churches are holding special Lenten services. 
People are more receptive to a presentation of the 
claims of any religious body. The class can, if it will, 
ride in on the crest of this popular wave of religious 
sentiment. 

In like manner, Christmas may be a season of spe- 
cial ingathering—and Thanksgiving, too. Mother’s 
Day has already been mentioned. 


Building Class Membership 187 


VI. USING THE NEW MEMBERS 


Recognition of New Members 


Many classes hold monthly recognition services for 
new members—dignified services of just a few min- 
utes’ duration. Such recognition need include only a 
few words of welcome from the President or Vice- 
President to make the new members feel at home, and 
to make them acquainted with the other women of the 
class. There should also be a brief ritual or outline 
of the purpose and aims of the organization. At this 
time the class pin and class literature should be given 
the new members. 


Importance of Putting New Members to Work 


Work is necessary to create and keep up the interest 
in the class. The new woman should be made to feel 
that the class can do her good and that she, in turn, 
can, through the class, be of service to the Kingdom. 
New members should be assigned to definite work on 
recruiting teams or as assistants to class officers, always 
placing them in congenial positions. Many a woman 
has been lost to Christian service just because she has 
been brought into the class and permitted to wither. 
Any recruiting plan which does not utilize new mem- 
bers will certainly fail. 


Wearing the Emblem 

The importance of wearing the class pin should be 
stressed. The denominational class pin or the inter- 
national organized adult Bible class emblem establishes 
a bond of fellowship between Christian women who 
meet as they travel about the city or as they visit 


188 The Women’s Class in Action 


other communities. Wearing the emblem helps ad- 
vertise the class as well as the organized Bible class 
movement. It gives one the feeling of reality—of be- 
longing to a truly substantial organization. 


VII. THE VICE-PRESIDENT AS ACTING PRESIDENT 


The Vice-President should be as familiar with the 
work of the class as the President herself. She should 
have a brief conference with the President at least once 
a week in order to keep in close touch with all of the 
latter’s plans. It is, of course, the duty of the Vice- 
President to preside at the class sessions whenever the 
President is absent. It is doubly important, therefore, 
that the Vice-President be a regular attendant. Some- 
times the President may be forced to be absent from 
class, and not have opportunity to notify the Vice- 
President, who must then be able to step into the breach 
and conduct the class sessions without break. When- 
ever possible the Vice-president should be given ad- 
vance notice that she will be expected to preside. 

In the event of a prolonged absence of the President, 
due to sickness, absence from the city, etc., the Vice- 
President should relieve the President of routine duties 
without special notice. The importance of regular con- 
ferences between these two officers is thus readily 
seen. With a live Vice-President there is no need for 
the class work to stop during the absence of the 
President, nor for the burden to be thrown upon the 
Teacher. 

In business meetings the Vice-President may often 
be called upon to preside when the President wishes to 
speak ona motion. It isn’t good parliamentary practice 


Building Class Membership 189 


for the chairman to speak for or against a motion from 
the chair. 


VIII. THE VICE-PRESIDENT’S RECORDS 


Carefully kept records are of invaluable assistance 
to the Vice-President. She should record the names 
and addresses of all visitors and other prospects; dates 
of calls, letters, phone calls and personal visits; records 
of results secured by her several teams; and records 
of all prospects who join the class. Such records will 
enable her to follow up her prospects effectively and to 
make comprehensive reports of the work done by her 
department. If such records are available, a new Vice- 
President will find his path much smoother. The at- 
tached forms, Figures 1 and 2, are some that have been 
used by class vice-presidents to good advantage. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Barclay-Phifer, “The Adult Worker and Work,” Ch. 
VII 


Hudson, “The ‘How’ Book,” pages 33-50. 

Moninger, “How to Build an A. B. C.,” Chs. IV, VIII. 

Strickland & McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class,” 
pages 60, 61. 

Wells, “The Ideal Adult Class in the Sunday School,” 
Ch. VII. 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


t. To what extent is the office of Vice-president an 
active office in our adult Bible classes? 

2. How can the class make a favorable impression on 
prospective members? 


190 The Women’s Class in Action 


3. What factor would you consider most important in 
building class membership? 

4. Do you believe the “One-at-a-time” plan practicable 
in building a women’s Bible class? 

5. Should the women’s class use the contest method 
to build attendance? Give arguments both for and 
against. 

6. To what extent are our adult Bible classes reaching 
their possible prospects? Can the present situation be 
improved? How? 

7. What successful methods of recruiting has your 
class used? 

8. Do you see any value in a recognition service? 
Plan a brief service for use in your class. 


CHAPTER XI 
KEEPING THE MEMBERS COMING 


LASSES often make strenuous efforts to secure 

new members, and then when they have them, 
they forget all about them. The holding of these 
members is of even greater importance than getting 
them. For this important work the class Visitor is 
responsible. 


I. THE CLASS VISITOR 


Persistence, tact and personality are the outstanding 
characteristics of the successful class Visitor. She 
should be able to distinguish between real reasons 
given by absentees for failure to attend class and mere 
excuses. She will not give up attempts to bring back 
absentees until convinced that there is no possible 
chance of getting them back. She should remember 
that “feelings” are tenderest in the Bible class, and 
deal tactfully with every situation. Furthermore, for 
this office the class should select a woman of strong 
social instincts—who likes women and is liked by them 
—who will take time from merely worldly pleasures 
and make it a point to establish as many contacts with 
class members as possible. Jokingly speaking, the 
Visitor is the class truant officer, who brings members 
back into the fold by creating a new and deeper love 


for the class. 
191 


192 The Women’s Class in Action 


II. FACTORS IN MAINTAINING ATTENDANCE 


Program 

The class program is perhaps the greatest factor in 
maintaining attendance. Advertising, personal solici- 
tation or personal friendship may bring a woman out 
once or twice, but she will not keep coming if she is 
not given something worth while when she attends. 
The study course must be appealing, the teaching vital, 
the session sparkling and progressive, the fellowship 
genuine and the motives of the class lofty and service- 
culminating. 


Be Interested in Absent Members 


A regular follow of all absentees is absolutely neces- 
sary if the class attendance is to be maintained at a 
proper level. An absence should never go unnoticed. 
The Visitor will use various methods of making her 
follow, using her best judgment as to what method 
to use on the different individuals. At least a post 
card (personally written, not a printed form) should 
be sent to the absentee during the week following her 
first absence. This should carry a greeting from the 
class, regrets at the absence and the hope that nothing 
serious is wrong, and that she will be out the following 
Sunday. If the absence continues, a personal letter 
should be sent the second week. No absence should 
continue for more than three weeks without a per- 
sonal call from the Visitor or one of her assistants. 
Such a call is much to be preferred following the second 
absence. The telephone will be frequently used, as - 
occasion warrants. 

Unless it is definitely known that a member can 


Keeping the Members Coming 193 


We have sent you" 


5 post cards 
3 letters 


6 of our Sunday-School 
Bulletins 


IF this. isnt strictly correct it wtght as well be. 
he cost tous,oodles of time and’ 25¢ postage~ 
enougk to buy aTrrift Stamp 
Stick this in your mind — 
Not the Thrift Stampybut the fact thot 
We Wat You aud Need You as o member of the 


of the 


“WH EN WE NOTICED YOUR ABSENCE 
# , FROM OUR 


Syn SUNDAY SCHOOL 


ie 


CLASS 


LAST SUNDAY 
PLEASE DONT LET 
2 THAT HAEEEN AGAIN 





FIGURE 4—EXAMPLES OF POOR FORMS OF STOCK POST CARDS. THEY 
LACK BOTH DIGNITY AND COMMON SENSE AND HAVE A POOR 
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT UPON A RECIPIENT 


194. The Women’s Class in Action 


be present only every other Sunday or the like, it should 
be assumed that absence is due to illness or other 
serious reason, and a strenuous effort should be made 
to determine what that reason is. In case of serious 
illness many classes send flowers. Unless the class 
shows some concern about its absent members very 


WE were very 


sorry To miss ¥OU 


from our Sunday School class last Sunday 


The regular attendance of members means much to the 
class, and to the school. 


‘Every Menber Presse Every Sunday” 


1s our Motto. 





FIGURE 5—THIS STOCK CARD IS MUCH MORE SUITABLE FOR USE BY 
A WOMAN’S BIBLE CLASS THAN THOSE ON PAGE 193. THE SAME 
CARD SHOULD NOT BE USED TOO FREQUENTLY 


soon those members will show but little concern about 
the class. 

Absentees should be kept informed regarding the 
class work. If the class issues a bulletin, a copy should 
be mailed to every absent member. This may be done 
under the Visitor’s own direction or, as is suggested 
in a later chapter, by the Librarian. During mission 
study courses it is possible for the Visitor to tie up 
her work to the teaching by using reminder post cards 


Keeping the Members Coming 195 


showing views of the mission field being studied. Such 
cards are supplied by the mission boards at very rea- 
sonable prices, and offer opportunity for a desirable 
variation from regular cards. 

The wits of the Visitor will be greatly taxed in the 
case of some members who have supposed reasons for 
non-attendance. All delinquents should be urged to 
state frankly the reasons they do not attend. The 
Visitor should impress on them the importance, both 
to themselves and to the class, of a closer affiliation. 
She should invite criticism and also suggestions, point- 
ing out that only in this way may the class hope to 
improve. .In the majority of cases the only “reason” 
that a member can give is that she sleeps late on Sun- 
day mornings or that she “goes to the river.” An 
early rising visiting staff can easily remove the first- 
mentioned cause of absenteeism at any rate. 

To carry on her work with promptness and thor- 
oughness the Visitor needs a large corps of as- 
sistants. She will advise the entire class of her plans, 
and use at least one-third of the members in definite 
visiting service, following the “One-at-a-time” plan 
outlined in Chapter X. 


Rally Days 


Rally Day, Women’s Day, Anniversary Day, 
Mother’s Day and Children’s Day are splendid op- 
portunities for the Visitor to take advantage of the 
timely element and should enlist the entire class mem- 
bership to secure a banner attendance. No rally day 
efforts will, however, be worth the time taken to pro- 
mote them if efforts are not continued after the actual 
rally day has passed. A special drive will bring out 


196 The Women’s Class in Action 


many irregular attendants, but a sound program plus 
consistent and persistent effort is needed to maintain 
permanently a healthy attendance. 


Contests 


If not overworked, contests are sometimes useful 
in maintaining attendance, If the class is divided into 


OKILL Kinoves EnTHusiASM./ 


OU TO HELP MAKE 


WE WEED ‘v 
OUR CLASS WHAT iT OUGHT TO BE. 
No. 0.014. Baptist 8. 8. Board, Nashville, Tenn. 





FIGURE 6—ANOTHER SATISFACTORY STOCK POST CARD WHICH PRO- 
VIDES AMPLE SPACE FOR INDIVIDUALIZING BY WRITING A SPECIAL 
MESSAGE 


more or less permanent groups, the competitive spirit 
can be aroused by featuring the records of the groups. 

The “Four-square’”’ Bible Class Campaign described 
in Chapter X is planned more particularly for using 
members already in the class than for getting new 
members. In contests between classes at least sixty 
per cent of the enrolled membership must be present 


Keeping the Members Coming 197 


before any credit is given. This contest plan places a 
premium on superficial attendance increase. 

Miss Jessie Burrall has injected an element of fun 
into attendance maintenance in her zoo plan of or- 
ganization. ‘The class is divided into groups (they 
may be the One-at-a-time-plan groups). Each group 
choses a name such as Happy Hippos, Terrific Tigers, 
Elated Elephants. These groups vie with each other 
in maintaining the best attendance standards. 

The Anchor Class of the Centenary M. E. Church, 
St. Louis, varied this plan, after having used it suc- 
cessfully for a year, by naming the groups after noted 
Bible women. Later the plan was again changed, the 
class being divided into four sections or “corners” each 
being designated by colors. The experience of this 
group of women brings to mind an important prin- 
ciple—methods should be changed from time to time 
to maintain interest. 


Novelty Plans 


One class of women passed to each member a 
capsule containing the name of some other woman of 
the class toward whom she was to act as a secret 
“pal” during the following six months. The member 
whose name was drawn was to be a special subject of 
prayer, and was to be looked after in every possible 
way in order to maintain her interest in class work. 
At the end of six months the names drawn were re- 
vealed and capsules containing new names prepared. 
Such a plan has much to recommend it—cultivation of 
friendships, greater interest in class work and the 
psychological reflex upon the members themselves. 


198 The Women’s Class in Action 


III PRUNING THE MEMBERSHIP 


Some classes practice dropping absent members after 
four consecutive Sundays’ absence. Usually this is 
done so that the class “average” may be kept up. Ap- 
parently a high class average on reports is of more 
importance to those classes than a high average in lives. 

When a woman joins a Bible class that woman is a 
definite class responsibility and does not cease to be 
one when she has been absent four weeks—or forty 
weeks. In this writer’s judgment a woman’s name 
should be removed from the active class membership 
rolls when she becomes an active officer or teacher in 
the church school, when she moves from the commu- 
nity, when she joins another church or class, or when 
she dies. Even the woman who says that she will not 
come may often be reached after her case is carefully 
studied and understood. 

Our classes need more and more to get the life view- 
point in membership problems. Who knows but that 
the removal of the name of a woman who should be 
active in Christian life from the class rolls may not 
be cutting off her chance of eternal life? Who knows 
that some other Christian influence will bring about 
what the class failed in doing? If such influence does 
not reach her, what excuse can the class give for de- 
liberately repudiating a responsibility for the sake of 
a superficial “record’’? 


IV. STIMULATING PUNCTUALITY 


Nothing disturbs a class session more than the en- 
trance of tardy members. The Visitor in cooperation 


Keeping the Members Coming 199 


with the President and Secretary should strive for one 
hundred per cent punctuality. 

The achievement of this aim again depends upon 
the school and class program, If the opening service 
is vital and interesting, the members will be likely to 


AMOMA CLASS 
Sepioshenipetniatttp nqeicteteneincen a baptist, Church 


WHERICAN BAPTIOT PYBLempe SOOTY 





FIGURE 7—A DIGNIFIED CARD IN KEEPING WITH BEST ADULT CLASS 
IDEALS. THIS CARD MAY BE USED INDEFINITELY—IT IS VIR- 
TUALLY A LETTERHEAD ON A CARD 


attend—if uninteresting, no artificial stimulants will 
result in any permanent good. 


V. MEMBERS WHO MOVE AWAY 


The class should not lose interest in its members 
when they move from the community. The Visitor 
should find out if possible where the member is mov- 
ing and give her a letter of introduction to the corre- 
sponding class or Pastor of the church of the same de- 


200 The Women’s Class in Action 


nomination in her new home community. It is desir- 
able that she also write to the Pastor himself, so that 
the member may quickly take her place in religious 
work in her new home. It is very easy to get out of 
the habit of church school work when moving to a 
new community. The class’s responsibility in seeing 
that its members are in active service does not cease 
until the new organization has been notified that a 
new worker has moved into their neighborhood. 


VI. THE VISITOR’S RECORDS 


Like the other officers of the organized class, the 
Visitor will keep records so that she and the class may 
be informed regarding the work of her department. 
She will want a card record of the names and addresses 
of all members. On this card should be provided 
spaces for recording the absence of a member on any 
date, and for noting the methods used to follow her. 
Such a record may be as simple or as complicated as 
the Visitor desires. A standard 3” x5” ruled card is 
all that is needed. Write the member’s name, home 
and business address, and home and business phone 
at the top. When the member is absent, note that fact 
with the date, then follow with entries showing the 
date on which cards were sent, letters mailed, phone 
calls, personal calls by self or assistant and assistant’s 
name. 

Excuses given by the absentees should by all means 
be noted. When you know excuses in advance, it is 
easy to overcome objections as they are brought up. 

The Visitor should also keep individual card records 
of the work done by her various assistants, so that she 


; 


Keeping the Members Coming 201 


can give encouragement as may be needed. Plain 
cards may also be used for this purpose—the assistant’s 
name at the top, and her assignments showing the 
result of her effort noted below. The Visitor should 
expect definite written reports from each assistant re- 
garding the definite assignments that have been given 
her. 

It takes but little imagination to see the value of such 
records to the Visitor. The value to a new Visitor just 
taking up the duties is even greater, for she will have 
noted for her use the accumulated experience of the 
previous incumbent in the same office. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Strickland and McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class.” 
Pp. 61-62. 
Bovard, “Adults in the Sunday School.” Ch. V. 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


1. Do you agree with the author’s viewpoint regarding 
the dropping of names from the class roll? State why 
or why not. 

2. How would you handle a member who said that 
she was just too busy on Sunday mornings to come out 
regularly ? 

3. What steps would you take to win to regular at- 
tendance a young business woman who said, “I work at 
such a pace during the week that I just feel that I must 
get out in the country for my week-ends?” 

4. List some excuses you have heard from members 
of women’s classes for not attending regularly. How 
can they be answered ? 


CHAPTER XII 
CLASS RECORDS 


I. THE CLASS SECRETARY 


ECORDS bear the same relation to the Women’s 
Bible Class as the thermometer to an oven, or 
the accounting system does to modern business. The 
class that does not keep accurate records is like a ship 
without its compass—it goes, but no one knows in 
what direction, nor at what moment it may hit rock 
and meet destruction. The class Secretary is a torch- 
bearer occupying an enviable position from which she 
may survey the work of the class, observe its trend and 
point out by definite facts, before the danger point 1s 
reached, where improvement may be made. By the 
light of her statistics she leads the class onward and 
upward to greater success. 

The woman selected for the office of Secretary 
should be one who has more or less liking for secre- 
tarial work—not necessarily a bookkeeper, but one who 
has a love for statistics. The Secretary should see 
the value of comparative statistics—she should have 
an analytical mind that notes quickly how facts can 
be used for the best interest of the class. She should 
be able to compile comprehensive reports showing class 
growth. These reports to be of value must be accurate 
—no omissions due to absence. The Secretary should 
have a reputation for neatness; the class ought not to 


be ashamed to show its reports to any one at any time. 
202 


Class Records ~~ 203 


II. RECORDS STATISTICAL 


The attendance record is the barometer of class 
progress, The Secretary should let nothing interfere 
with the keeping of accurate records of attendance at 
the Sunday sessions, at business meetings and at meet- 
ings of the class officers. If she is unable to be present 
at any class meeting she should satisfy herself that 
one of her assistants will be there to take care of her 
work for her. Records are valueless if incomplete. 

No records should be kept merely for record’s sake 
—record only the information that can be used. The 
minimum requirements should include number present, 
the names of those present, number and names of 
visitors, and a record of those present on time. Other 
information will be secured as the class finds use for it. 


Securing Attendance 


Methods of securing the attendance information 
vary in different classes. In no case should valuable 
time of the session be taken to conduct roll call. In 
small classes the Secretary will probably know all the 
members and can check off their attendance without 
bothering any one, names of visitors being secured 
from the Vice-President after class session, Many 
classes use printed envelopes (see Fig. 8) with spaces 
for name, address, lesson preparation, punctuality, 
preaching attendance and amount of offering, and, in 
the case of visitors, the home address and church. 
Each attendant receives and marks her envelope and 
deposits her offering. The Secretary receives these 
envelopes just as soon as the Treasurer removes the 


204 The Women's Class in ‘Action 


offering, and secures an accurate count of the day’s 
attendance. 


INDIVIDUAL REPORT. Answer all Questions “Yes” or “No” 
Deparpyfent————— _______.. Gade Of Clase cinemas 
Sc ne ee ae ee Le noon ae EF 


Address Oe 
On time?_________ Bible ?___-__Amount of offering $ —_- ___ 
Have you 4 prepared lesson to-day?, 

Are you braying for preaching to-day? 


BAPTIBT SUNDAY SCHOOL BOARD, NAsnvicLe. TENN. 


a 





FIGURE 8—MEMBER’S INDIVIDUAL WEEKLY REPORT ENVELOPE 


Secretary’s Attendance Card +4. cssnccoms J %, 
N 
Home Address 
Business Address and Occupation 


ATTENDANCE—Days in Year: 


American Baptist Publication Socféty 





FIGURE Q—SECRETARY’S PERMANENT ATTENDANCE RECORD 


Class Records 205 


Permanent File 


All records obtained at the class meetings should 
be transferred to a permanent record. One of the very 
best is the card record (Fig. 9) published by the 
American Baptist Publication Society, containing space 
for recording the member’s name, address, phone, busi- 
ness address, whether married or single, and whether a 
Christian, and space for one year’s attendance. Such 
a record can always be kept clean of dead timber, all 
removed members being transferred to an “Old Mem- 
ber File.” Classes using the “six-point” system, rep- 
resented by Figure 8, will use the class card or class 
book illustrated in Figure 10 for their permanent 
records. Such records, faithfully kept, are an asset 
to any live class. 


Records of Business Meetings 


Accurate records should also be kept of the attend- 
ance of class officers at the officers’ meetings, and of all 
the members at the regular business meetings. Does 
the class President know who is regular at the business 
meetings, and who is always on time? Does she know 
how often her officers have missed executive commit- 
tee meetings? Does the Entertainer know what the 
average attendance is at business meetings, and who 
is regular? If she does, it will help her decide on the 
refreshments, and in making up a program. Records 
of business meetings indicate very clearly why certain 
class work is not developing as it should. These facts 
regarding these two important meetings can be pre- 
sented to the class and will usually help bring about 
desired improvement. 


206 The Women’s.Class in Action 


CLASS RECORD "sm terucm 


4th SUNDAY |i 
es il 


isles Sil <i] 5] a! 
tt 
a 


Lt REREEE 
Bane | 
----- FEEL Poo 
au 

co 
+H PET 

ant PTT Tt 

BEREAN Rite 

ven ae ale 


n 
} 


‘ ; 
* ; 





FIGURE IO0—SIX-POINT LOOSE-LEAF CLASS RECORD SHEET; PROVIDES 
SPACE FOR THIRTY-SEVEN MEMBERS FOR ONE MONTH}; ALSO 
FURNISHED IN CARD FORM (Courtesy S. S. Board, Nashville) 


Class Records 207 


Enrollment Records 

One of the most important records that the Secre- 
tary will keep is that of information about the class 
members. While each officer will keep some individual 
record pertaining to her own department, the Secretary 
will keep a complete record of all the information that 
she can secure, recording it on cards or on individual 


ENROLLMENT RECORD—SENIOR AND ADULT DEPARTMENTS 
Name ; Occupation 
Home Address ‘ Phone 


Business Address Phone 


Are you a Christian? Are you a Church member? 


If Church member, where is your membership? 

If not Church member, what is your preference? 

What experience have you had in Church activities? 

Are you willing to be used for service in this Church? 

What is your choice of service? 

Date enrolled Department entered 
Class entered 

Date left School Why 

New address 


FORM SA, BAPTIST SUNDAY SCHOOL GOARO, MAGHVMAL, TEM, 





FIGURE II—ENROLLMENT CARD; THE CLASS SECRETARY SHOULD 
HAVE A COPY OF THE ENROLLMENT RECORD 


sheets in a loose-leaf book. (See Fig. 11.) Such a 
record should contain name, address, business and busi- 
ness address, home and business phone, married or 
single, living at home or boarding, hobby, activities 
preferred, and in the case of a new member, the church, 
class and town from which she has come. This in- 
formation is valuable to all officers. The Teacher can 
pase lesson activities on the facts shown by the record. 


208 The Women’s Class in Action 


And so with the other officers. The Secretary should . 
make every effort to keep this record absolutely up to 
date, for every officer will from time to time want this 
information, particularly that pertaining to addresses 
and phone numbers. An out-of-date record is really 
worse than none at all as it results in waste effort 
and waste postage. 


Withdrawal Records 


The reason for every withdrawal from the class 
should be noted on the member’s enrollment card—it is 
dangerous to drop women who might be reénlisted in 
class work if effort were made. Should circumstances, 
home conditions, or the like make it necessary for a 
woman to discontinue regular attendance for a time, 
she should be classed among the extension members and 
ministered unto in the home through the class ex- 
tension division. 


Birthday Records 


Many classes keep a chronological record of birth- 
days, and mail cards to the members on their birthdays. 
That plan is a splendid device for building class loyalty 
and a spirit of true fellowship, especially if the mes- 
sages are personal rather than formal. 


School Records 


In many cases some records mentioned are kept by 
the Secretary of the church school of which the 
class is part. The class Secretary will cooperate with 
the school Secretary in every way to avoid duplicate 
effort. 


Class Records — 209 


Using the Records 


Reports, no matter how complete, are of little value 
if just kept in the Secretary’s record file. Using the 
statistics is two-thirds of the live Secretary’s job. 
The weekly attendance record should be placed upon a 
blackboard ruled for the purpose and commented upon 
briefly by the Secretary ; if comparisons are pictured in 
the form of graphs, a deeper impression will be made. 
Each member should receive monthly, or at least quar- 
terly, a summary report from the Secretary showing 
the number of times present or absent, the number of 
times late, etc., with a suggestion that the record be 
improved or a word of commendation for a good 
record. Frequent summaries should be prepared for 
distribution, publication in the class paper, or post- 
ing upon the blackboard. The Secretary occupies a 
strategic position in the departmental scheme of or- 
ganization; she can help her class greatly by rendering 
full cooperation to the other officers. 

As soon as a new member is voted into the class, the 
Secretary should have her fill out an enrollment rec- 
ord. A card containing the information desired by the 
Teacher will be made out and given to her, as will also 
one for the Treasurer. A copy will also be made for 
the general secretary of the school. 

Each week and as early in the week as possible the 
Secretary should see that the Teacher, President and 
the Visitor are given the attendance record of the 
previous week, including the names of all the ab- 
sentees. These officers can then put forth their best ef- 
forts to bring back the absent members. The Teacher, 
President and Vice-President should also receive a 
list of visitors, so that they may follow them and try 


Record for Quarter ending.............---.-2-------< 
Charo nl nb hoeco eer’ 


Number on roll at beginning of quarter... ..............-.———__ 
Number enrolled during quarter, 


Number dropped from roll during OASIS LAC SINR LN ION 


Net enrollment at end of quarter._.......... RP ey LERNER ak EWS NOLEN WE) WEE 
ATTENDANCE. 
ey for quarter_______Average per Sunday 


hlardaes per Sunday on six- 
point record system : 


Number of members of our church in class... 2.2. aces see 
Number of conversions this quarter_........ PORTE ee oR IS aT RN 
Number leaving class for other Christian serFice.. asses 


FINANCIAL. 
Total gifts for quarter_______ Average per Sunday..<.—_ 


Paid into our Sunday school treasury. -..--.... ----+-+<- -——____—_ 
Given to other causes (name them). 


we eee et ne nn ene Aa Oe ee eae ee ste tw ese ees ee e+e 


Record for Quarter ending...........-22-22- 2. eeeeeee 
Class....... TruNeuebh oe aeed hobs ams ae bow CHR. cis din ap tuekse te netes 
ENROLLMENT. PSF si.) 
Number cn roll at beginning of quarter. .............1-.——__ 


Number dropped from roll during quarter............----——_—________ 


Net enrollment at end of quarter. 
ATTENDANCE. 
Total for quarter______Average ~~ Sunday. 


Averages per Sunday on six- 0 
point record system.......... 
RELIGIOUS. 


Number of professed Christians in class 
Number of church members in class 


se ee seers 


Number of conversions this quarter_._..........-.-2----. Lino dedaaiilicacap 


Number leaving class for other Christian servieo.......... 
FINANCIAL, 
Total gifts for quarter__tm_Average per Sunday.....__.___ 


Paid into our Sunday school treasury... ....-.qaccceeeseeee: 
Given to other ¢auses (name them). 


Enrollment beginning of yeaf....<.-.-...- ap ET A eae OEE SE VAR 
A’ ‘jtions during year. .... Diwasess et DES EIU is RRs of A Ts ee 
Dropped during year. «5 s.0.0cs-seseccccsoscetan 


’ 


Net gain during year..... idee hd a ecanenons SVwakherive DRS STE AE 


Number joining our church. ..........-...-.----------- sind 
Number going out for other Christian serviee._........-.- 


. Number of conversions this quarter 


Record for Quarter ending...........---.0----s---0-+- 
ede oncom Setehihe dean CRAG, nue tase sn au aioe 


ENROLLMENT. 
Number on roll at beginning of quarter... . occ eke eee ee 


Number enrolled during quarter... ... 


| Ree Rene eee PPS LANE) BAR Pe oe ee ee 


Number dropped from roll during quarter......--.---...———__--_— 


Net enrollment at end of quarter_.....-......... Ps eRieh: SURE Seis 


ATTENDANCE. 
Total for TERE rar A VOR per Sunday 


Pa al al 


point record system 
RELIGIOUS, 


Number of professed Christians in clase.......,-.-++-peee_——» 
Number of church members in class._........ hid eheuee oblast 
Number of members of our church in class.._...........---——_______ 


ooo 


Number leaving class for other Christian service. psi te bs oth tniiiaialiaccncners 
FINANCIAL. 
Total gifts for quarter_________Average per Sunday... 


Paid into our Sunday school treasury 
Given to other causes (name them). 


ooo 


errs ee en eer a 


eee ee eee 


Reoord for Quarter ending... 22.222. eens cece ce nees 


Cheney ooh cuniae teat hiss Beaks Chul hic a ccabeadntecetens 
, ENROLLMENT. 
Number on roll at beginning of quarter__............-.s. _—____. 


Number enrolled during quarter. 


_ATTENDANCS. 
Total for aubeeenuparen per Sunday... ..... iceetembichdimeh 


RELIGIOUS, 
Number of professed Christians in class. 


Number of church members in class............. mdesaied et ee Se 
Number of members of our church in class_.__.. Weave Pe ee 
Number of conversions this quarter............ a Pp ee 


Number leaving class for other Christian service. ........- 
: FINANCIAL. 
Total gifts for quarter______Average per Sunday... 


Paid into our Sunday school treasury....-......... FR ERE A ee RES 
Given to other causes (name them). 


Total gifts for year. ......-... Kudeeeéonvans day 890 ads non diehetnindetseare 
To Sunday school treasury...... 
To other objects...........-.... 
Average per Sunday for year.... 


ee ree 


President. 


ee eee ee 


Write on the bad af taletheet She eniues ef thacaieaiae Oat bt the thames dpa the see for other Christian service, stating tha kind of 


service and where. 





FIGURE I2—A COMPREHENSIVE CLASS REPORT SHEET PROVIDING 
SPACE FOR QUARTERLY AND ANNUAL REPORTS (Courtesy S. S. 


Board, Nashville) 


Class Records aed Mat 


to make regular members out of them. If the class 
publishes a class paper or uses space in the church 
bulletin or local papers, the Secretary will consider that 
a fertile field for her endeavors. She should see that 
the Reporter is furnished with attendance facts for 
each Sunday, and also comparative statistics for publi- 
cation. Some classes run a tabulation in their class 
papers which shows the attendance for the previous 
Sunday compared with the same Sunday one year be- 
fore, the average attendance to date and for the pre- 
ceding year, the number on time, visitors, number who 
study the lesson, contributors and amount of offering. 
In some classes the Secretary furnishes the Reporter a 
monthly list of those attending every Sunday during 
the month. These names are published as an honor 
roll. <A list of the daily Bible readers for the month 
is also stimulating. Such facts simply bristle with 
interest not only to the members, but to visitors and 
others who receive the class publication. 

The good Secretary will have all this information 
handy, for use at any time that she may be called 
upon to furnish it. She will be called upon regularly 
for class records to be incorporated in complete records 
of the church and the church school, and for the 
statistical report of denominational district and state 
associations, and that of the district or county Sun- 
day School Council. These statistics should be com- 
plete and correct or they are of but little worth. 


III. RECORDS HISTORICAL 


By “historical records” are meant minutes of meet- 
ings, records of special occurrences and the like. The 


212 The Women’s Class in Action 


Secretary should keep complete, though not necessarily 
voluminous, records of every class meeting. First, of 
course, will naturally come the regular class business 
meetings. Secretaries sometimes make the mistake of 
attempting to record almost verbatim all discussions 
of such meetings. Nothing will tend to make a Secre- 
tary discouraged more than the laborious effort of 
keeping such a record. The purpose of the class 
minutes is to record class action. Discussion leading 
to such action is rarely of sufficient importance to be 
included in the minutes of a class business meeting. 
All that is necessary is a brief record of the motion as 
stated, with the name of the mover and the seconder 
if desired, and the action taken by the class. 

Similar brief records should be kept of the Sun- 
day morning sessions. In those meetings there will be 
very few motions to record, but there will be other 
business worthy of note. Attendance should be re- 
corded and also the weather. Brief mention should 
always be made of talks by special speakers, and even 
the regular lesson subject might be given. 

Officers’ meetings differ from business meetings, in 
that there is little formal business, but considerable dis- 
cussion. ‘The Secretary should record the substance 
of all discussion taking place, but as cautioned previ- 
ously should not attempt to give a lengthy account of 
every point. 

The Secretary will virtually be a class historian. Her 
minutes will in many respects check her statistical 
records. The minutes, if properly prepared, will show 
just what the class has done at such period of its 
history. All special events will be mentioned and 
briefly written up. Copies of the constitution and by- 


Class Records OPA 


laws, programs of class services of a special nature, 
and of class entertainments will be preserved, not only 
as mere history, but so that the past may be a guide for 
the future. 


© 


Shawarz, Oklabame 





FIGURE I3—-WELL-DESIGNEBD CLASS STATIONERY 


IV. CLASS CORRESPONDENCE 


While some of the details in connection with the 
record keeping should be delegated to assistants, the 
class correspondence will usually be handled by the 


214 The Women’s Class in Action 


Secretary herself. Unless the class is so small as to 
have but a few officers, the Secretary will not send 
out notices of meetings nor conduct direct-by-mail 
recruiting campaigns. The Visitor, Vice-President, 
Entertainer and Reporter will carry on most of the 
correspondence within the class. In case of necessity, 
the Secretary will, of course, cooperate with all other 
officers to the limit of her time and ability, but she 
should not be expected to handle two officers’ work at 
one time. Local conditions may make some changes 
advisable, but on the whole it will be best for the 
Secretary to confine her efforts to records and outside 
correspondence, 

If the class can afford it, it will find that class 
stationery printed with the class name, address, motto, 
emblem and the officers’ names will prove a splendid 
investment. This might even be furnished to class 
members for personal correspondence as a class ad- 
vertisement. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


McIntyre, “The Sunday School Secretary.” 
Strickland and McGlothlin, “Building the Bible Class.” 


Pp. 48-53. 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


1. How may a class use its records to good advantage? 

2. In what ways may the Secretary render effective 
cooperation to other class officers? 

3. How would you rank the Secretary among the 
other officers from the standpoint of comparative im- 
portance of her office? Explain. 

4. How can the Secretary present her reports so as 
to secure attention and make a lasting impression? 


CHAPTER XIII 
CLASS FINANCES 


I. THE TREASURER 


PON the class Treasurer rests not only the re- 
sponsibility of collecting money, but of stimu- 
lating a right attitude toward giving. In promoting 
the grace of liberality she will appeal not primarily to 
class loyalty or loyalty to a special cause being fostered, 
but rather to the woman’s sense of duty—her obliga- 
tion to God, who has given her all that she has. Regu- 
lar and systematic giving, with the tithe as the mini- 
mum for religious purposes, should be the Treasurer’s 
ideal for each member. 


Qualifications 


For the office of Treasurer the class should select 
a woman largely because of her outstanding business 
ability. Here, of all places, it is important that busi- 
ness methods be used to bring results. 

It is only by using tact that the Treasurer will be 
able to encourage regularity and liberality. She must 
know how to approach the members who think that 
their incomes are insufficient to become regular con- 
tributors, and know how to remind members who are 
delinquent in paying pledges, without appearing too 
persistent. 


The position of Treasurer is a Christian calling in 
215 


216 The Women’s Class in Action 


the strongest sense. Whereas the President will em- 
phasize personal consecration, the Treasurer will em- 
phasize Purse and All consecration. It is only con- 
sistent that she set the example by contributing regu- 
larly and, in so far as she is able, generously. 

The woman who is selected for the office of Treas- 
urer should have an excellent record as a regular at- 
tendant. The difference between a Treasurer who is 
always on hand and one who is indifferent is just the 
difference between a financially sound organization and 
one that is always a little behind in meeting its obliga- 
tions. In one class with an average attendance of be- 
tween fifteen and twenty a certain Treasurer collected 
sixty dollars a year in monthly dues alone. In the 
following year with a less regular attendant in charge, 
collections of dues fell to twenty dollars, with no drop 
in membership. The first Treasurer was on the job 
every Sunday. ‘The members who were absent the 
first Sunday were reached on the second, third or 
fourth Sunday; the second Treasurer passed collection 
envelopes to members on the first Sunday of the month 
only—and missed all those who were absent on that 
Sunday, but who attended later in the month. 


II. CLASS FUNDS 


Sunday Offerings 

The regular Sunday morning offering belongs to 
the Sunday school and should be used according to 
the plan of the school. The organized classes are part 
of the school and subject to its rules and regulations. 
The adult classes often think of themselves as separate 
departments rather than only a small unit of a larger 


Class Finances Dhe 


organization. The Treasurer and other officers should 
make every effort to impress this fact upon class mem- 
bers who have a wrong perspective. 

Many schools authorize the organized classes to buy 
their own supplies and to retain a portion of the Sun- 
day offerings for that purpose. Some classes retain 
the offering on the odd Sundays of the month, while 
the school takes the offerings of the even Sundays. 
Others divide all funds received evenly with the school. 
In still other cases the classes simply ask the Sunday 
school to state what is expected of them during the 
year, include it in their budget, and pay that much, 
retaining all offerings above that amount. The ideal 
way is to turn all the Sunday collections into the Sun- 
day school treasury and permit the school to purchase 
the class supplies, just as they are purchased for all 
other classes. Whatever arrangements are made 
should be acceptable to the school, not dictated by the 
class. 


Class Dues 


There are always expenses in connection with or- 
ganized class work, aside from supplies for the lesson 
period—entertainments, class social service, flowers, 
stationery, and the like. Many classes meet such ex- 
penses by a system of monthly dues. No attempt 
should be made in a Bible class to fix dues, unless they 
are low enough that even the poorest member will be 
able to pay them. ‘The method to be preferred is a 
voluntary pledge to pay a certain amount each month 
until the pledge is cancelled. The tactful Treasurer 
will be able to suggest the amount to any member who 
does not know just how much she should pay. 


218 The Women’s Class in Action : 


It will be well for the Treasurer to provide a special 
class envelope for the collection of the dues, this to 
carry the class name and emblem, name of the mem- 
ber, date and amount due. Sometimes a member may 
find it inconvenient to pay just at the time that the 
envelope is given her; she can then put it in her purse 
as a reminder for later payment. ‘The tactful Treas- 
urer will not be too insistent about class dues. If a 
month’s dues are unpaid, she may simply note the un- 
paid total on the following month’s envelope. Such 
a plan can hardly give even the most indifferent mem- 
ber an idea that money is all the class wants. 


Advertising Funds 


Some classes that issue class papers secure adver- 
tising to cover the cost of publication. It usually falls 
to the Treasurer’s lot to secure the advertisements and 
also to collect for them. While the ideal class paper 
is free from advertising, yet because of the expense of 
publishing, it may be necessary to accept some ads. 
The Treasurer should try to make the advertising pay 
for the paper—but the class should try to make the 
advertising pay the advertiser. Speaking from the 
standpoint of an advertising man, this sort of adver- 
tising rarely does pay the advertiser. Most “ad- 
vertisers” usually class such expenditures simply as 
benevolence. 


Payment of Bulls 
All money passing through the class should go 


through the Treasurer. She should open a class ac- — 


count in a local bank for the deposit of class funds, 
and for sake of record should make all payments by 


: 


7 


Class Finances 219 


check. Under no circumstances should class funds 
be deposited in any officer’s personal account—mistakes 
are too easily made. All bills should be presented to 
the Treasurer for payment. Only confusion results 
if individuals are permitted to purchase supplies and 
pay for them. No individual should ever purchase sup- 
plies unless previously authorized by the class to do so. 
It is much better for the Treasurer herself to place all 
orders, for then checking bills is easy. The Treasurer 
will include a statement of all paid bills in her monthly 
report to the class. Some classes require as an extra 
check that all bills be countersigned by the President 
before payment. 


Ill. THE BUDGET SYSTEM 


If the class is to be run on a business basis business 
methods must be used. Nowhere has there been less 
business discernment than in the field of finance in 
religious organizations. Note the present financial 
chaos: collections taken in church organizations every 
year—repeated calls upon the membership for con- 
tributions to meet some unforeseen need—offerings 
and dues to a multitude of organizations to which one 
woman may belong. 

To attain best results the class should, under the 
Treasurer’s direction, survey its probable needs for the 
year and plan a budget to cover those needs. In form- 
ing the budget, the past year’s activities will be a guide 
as to the possibilities of the next year. The class should 
consider whether the money raised during the past 
year represented 100 per cent possibilities—usually it 
will not have done so. All the usual and some unusual 


220 The Women’s Class in Action 


needs should be provided for in the budget. Include 
the agreed-upon offering to the Sunday school, cost 
of class lesson material, new equipment, entertainment 
at the regular business meetings, the athletic program, 
general entertainments, lyceum courses, upkeep of the 
class room, contribution to church building needs, 
social service, such as sending flowers to sick members, 
thanksgiving offerings and missions. 

After the class has voted to adopt the budget the 
Treasurer should urge all members to support it 


strongly. A special financial Sunday might be planned ~ 


with a drive to secure sufficient pledges to under- 
write the budget. The Treasurer or an assistant should 
call on those members who will not be reached on the 
financial Sunday. In carrying out the financial can- 
vass, appeal to the membership on the basis of stew- 
ardship. Printed sets of class envelopes in cartons 
may be given to the members to facilitate making 
regular offerings. If such a budget plan is worked, 
regular giving will be stimulated, there will be no undue 
hardship placed upon any member, no special calls dur- 
ing the year, and always enough money on hand to 
meet class needs. 

In the more progressive churches the class budget 
is made part of the general church school budget, 
which in turn becomes part of the budget of the entire 
church, Then instead of a member contributing to the 
church and separately to her class, she makes but one 


annual pledge, receives but one set of contribution | 


envelopes and makes but one weekly offering. The 
class is then permitted to pass for payment bills to the 
extent of one-twelfth of its budget each month, This 
plan truly unifies the church financial program, de- 





: 
| 


Class Finances 221 


velops greater church loyalty among the members of 
the adult classes, assures each class of sufficient funds 
to carry on an adequate program, and is genuinely con- 
venient for all members. Adult class Treasurers can 
contribute toward higher church efficiency by starting 
movements in their local churches for the adoption of 
the unified budget plan. 


IV. THE TREASURER’S RECORDS 


As attendance records have been shown to be im- 
portant, so are financial records—both for purpose of 
having information regarding individual contributors, 
and for statistical comparison. If the Treasurer has 
bookkeeping experience, it will be helpful—if not, the 
few simple principles suited to the Bible Class are easily 
learned. 

A simple form for class record keeping (Figure 14) 
is appended in which certain general classes of trans- 
actions are separated for the purpose of analyzing the 
receipts and expenditures. Such a form may be as 
elaborate as class activities may warrant. The two 
sides of the account should be balanced monthly. If 
the total expenditures plus the money on hand at the 
end of the month equals the total receipts plus the 
money on hand at the beginning of the month, then 
the Treasurer knows that her accounts are correct. 
This form makes it easy to present comprehensive 
reports of class expenditures. All money passing 
through the class should be entered on the books even 
though, as in the case of Sunday offerings, it is turned 
in to the Sunday School treasury at once. 

Individual records should be kept of all dues col- 


222 The Women’s Class in Action 


RECEIPTS 
Be 
Date Offering Dues Total 
Total 
DISBURSEMENTS 
Date Church | soojgi | Litera- |Missions| 244iP- | Miscel. 
ic e ment 

Total 





FIGURE I4—-A SIMPLE LEDGER ACCOUNT FOR THE BIBLE CLASS 


Class Finances Way fos 


lected from members and totals by weeks and months. 
Such record can usually be best handled on individual 
record cards. The card shown (Figures 15-16), pub- 
lished by the American Baptist Publication Society, is 
a splendid combination pledge card and record of 
contributions. 


The Grace of Liberality repeats 
Young Women’s AMOMA Bible Class 


It is my desire to contribute systematically to the current expenses of the 
class, and until | notify the Treasurer otherwise, will contnbute im the manner 
and amount designated below: 


risus. W eekly -mrroneisnn Cts. Semimonthly, mra-.acts. Monthly 


If absent, and have not notified the Treasurer of my desire-to discontinue 
the payments toward the current expenses of the class, she will please render 
me 


Name TAT ORT NT A OTLTOTS D009 FOREST REREREIETAED TOO ee viet mes Ibt rab eSeSe FTEEUDY TES HOLE Hee Eran er er ST eet esr be AB OES ICO TTT OS SHER EES 


Dee ese es PoE LEADS RO a OD 
Porm Noll American Baptiat Publication Socter;. tOvER) 





FIGURE I 5—TREASURER’S PLEDGE CARD 


As previously stated all expenditures should be pre- 
sented to the class at the monthly business meeting for 
its approval. At each of these meetings a complete 
report of the activities of the Treasurer and her as- 
sistants should be made, covering all money received, 
paid and balance on hand. 

The Treasurer should also present an annual report 
covering all financial activities during the year. This 
report should be submitted to the Sunday school for 
its annual report to the church. 

As a matter of form and to catch any inaccuracies 


224 The Women’s Class in Action 


that might have crept into the records, the class should 
appoint annually an auditing committee to check the 
accounts, | 


Treasurer’s Collection Record = Pledge 


_ Address 
[ Date] Amt. || Datel | Ame 
Dis SA BH ake) 1") 


Be eet 
Wa kN PEED BD | RW A A EEG 
FEA GR PPE EH | I GR Sh 
RHEE EEE 


oan FL NN FED FR PE 
eed pee ie ee ere ae BS GF 





FIGURE I6—TREASURER’S INDIVIDUAL COLLECTION RECORD; THE 
REVERSE OF PLEDGE CARD SHOWN IN FIGURE 15 


V. OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE 


The live Treasurer will find ample opportunity for 
further service. Who is better fitted to serve as class 
representative on the church finance committee? Since 
the Treasurer’s function is also to promote the grace 
of giving, she will cooperate with the Librarian in dis- 
tributing literature on stewardship, tithing, etc., which 
may be secured from the denominational publishing 
houses, mission boards, and from the national offices | 
of the Christian Endeavor, Epworth League, Baptist 
Young People’s Union, etc. She may even assist the 
Teacher occasionally in conducting a special study 


Class Finances Reeds 


course on “The Bible and Money,” or “Stewardship,” 
or something similar. She will see that the Reporter 
is furnished with all statistics of her office for publica- 
tion in the-class or church bulletin. 

Of course it is not to be expected that the Treasurer 
will do all these things alone—not if she is a real busi- 
ness woman. She, too, will have her corps of assist- 
ants, one to help collect dues, one or two to handle 
advertising, and others as needed. The Treasurer 
should be comparatively free so that she may plan to 
make her office a spiritual force second only to that 
of the Teacher and President. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Agar, “Modern Money Methods for the Church.” 


OURS TIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


I. Discuss some ways in which the Treasurer may 
contribute to the spiritual needs of the class members. 

2. What advantages do you see in the adoption of a 
unified budget including all church organizations? Do 
you think of any disadvantages? 

3. What fundamental considerations should determine 
the financial policy of the class in its relation to the 
church school? 

4. Should the class solicit paid advertising for its 
class paper? Give reasons for your answer. 

5. A certain class passed two plates for the Sunday 
offering—one plate for the school and the other for the 
class. Another class retained all envelope offerings and 
gave the school all loose change found on the plate. 
What do you think of ‘these methods of determining 
a proper division of Sunday offerings with the school? 


CHAPTER XIV 


DEVELOPING THE SOCIAL 
INSTINGIES 


I. WHY CLASS SOCIAL ACTIVITIES ? 


HE chief values of class social life are six- 
fold: 


The development of the complete woman by min- 
istering to her social needs; 

. Providing wholesome recreation for many women 

who seemingly forget that adults should relieve 

the monotony of daily tasks with play; 

. Unsuspected traits of character are revealed at 

social affairs, when women are “off their guard ;” 

. Character is built through the inhibition of indi- 
vidualistic traits—a positive effect of social 
intercourse ; 

Opportunity is offered Christian workers to reach 
women at informal social gatherings who are 
indifferent to the Gospel message when formally 
taught ; 

A thoroughly enthusiastic spirit of Christian  fel- 
lowship is created within the class—a spirit that 
grows only as the women meet informally at 
various class gatherings and learn to know each - 
other. As far as possible the class should strive 


to make itself the social unit for its membership. 
226 


Developing the Social Instincts 227 


II. THE ENTERTAINER 


For the nurturing of the social life of the class the 
Entertainer is responsible. The term doesn’t indicate 
that this officer is to entertain the class—she is rather 
to help the members entertain each other. A woman 
who is at once a good mixer, a leader and a good 
Christian makes the most acceptable Entertainer. 
Natural ability to entertain and to plan interesting pro- 
grams is to be prized, but if the woman selected has 
executive ability she can lead the social life of the class 
although she may think herself unsuited because of 
lack of ability to sing or give a reading. The Enter- 
tainer should assume personal direction of only such 
activities with which she is thoroughly familiar. The 
ideal Entertainer is a commander-in-chief who out- 
lines and directs the general campaign of class social 
activities. She has assistants to handle the details of 
open entertainments, music, physical activities, refresh- 
ments, etc.—all specialists in their respective lines, 


III. SOCIAL AFFAIRS WITHIN THE CLASS 


Get-Together Meetings 


The regular monthly class business meeting repre- 
sents one of the big opportunities of the Entertainer— 
no class should neglect the social features of such 
meetings. If the business and social features are prop- 
erly correlated each will serve to stimulate interest in 
the meeting. About forty-five minutes should be de- 
voted to business and an equal amount to the social 
program. An interesting program is the whole secret 
of a successful social and business meeting. 


228 The Women’s Class in Action 


Entertainment at the business meetings should 
usually be somewhat light. A short, snappy program 
liberally sprinkled with humorous features is much 
to be preferred to a long one of a more serious nature. 
The program of entertainment should be varied from 
month to month; it may include music by class 
members—vocal and instrumental—brief humorous 
sketches usually written by women of the class and 
often about the members, humorous readings, and 
debates. Even debates should be in a light vein. The 
following subjects have been used with good success: 


Resolved: that bobbed hair should be prohibited by 
law. 

Resolved: that bachelors should be taxed. 

Resolved: that men are more extravagant than 
women. 

Resolved: that women should wear just one hat a 
year. 


An extemporaneous debate offers an occasional happy 
variation of the program. If serious topics are chosen 
for debate a time limit of five or six minutes should 
be set for each speaker. An attempt to make the 
monthly get-together meeting too educational will de- 
feat its ultimate purpose. 

A number of women’s classes have found that the 
serving of a simple supper before the business session 
helps bring out the members. The suppers are usually 
prepared by the women themselves, in turn. A nominal 
charge should be made for meals as few class treas- 
uries can stand the strain of monthly suppers for the 
members. 


Developing the Social Instincts 229 


The actual needs of the class should always be con- 
sidered in planning business and social meetings. 
Some classes may not need a meeting every month— 
the members may be too busy to give the time to attend 
so frequently. If that is the case, meetings should be 
held less often and effort made to increase attendance 
at the meetings that are held. One good meeting a 
year well attended is much better than an uninteresting, 
poorly attended meeting held each month. Bi-monthly 
or quarterly meetings are often a happy compromise. 
The Woman’s class of the First M. E. Sunday School, 
Chattanooga, Tenn., holds just two meetings a year— 
one in spring at which all women whose birthdays come 
in the first six months are guests of honor, and another 
in autumn for those whose birthdays fall during the 
last six months, Let the local class determine its needs 
and plan its meetings accordingly—but plan regular 
meetings in any event. 

In a number of church schools a “class night’ plan 
has been adopted to unify the departmental social ac- 
tivities. All organized classes meet in their class rooms 
for forty minutes or an hour to discuss class business. 
Following the business session the classes come to- 
gether for a social period, this being in charge of a 
different class each month. 


Class Music 


Nothing contributes more to the success of social 
affairs of the class or the school and church of which 
it is a part than good music. It is possible in almost 
every class to organize an acceptable vocal quartette 
or even a strong glee club. Instrumental organiza- 
tions are possible even though there are only a limited 


230 The Women’s Class in Action 


number of players; a violin, ’cello and piano; two 
violins, a ’cello and bass; two clarinets, a flute and 
oboe; these are all pleasing combinations that even 
the smaller classes can organize. Many larger classes 
have their own orchestras of from seven to thirty-four 
pieces. Some classes form the nucleus of Sunday 
school orchestras, while others are instrumental in or- 
ganizing larger community bands. Neither large num- 
bers nor high quality music is needed to start—the 
main thing is to use the available talent; quality will 
follow. 

Class musical organizations need not confine their 
efforts solely to sacred music—a certain amount of 
more popular music adds interest. Discretion should 
be used, however, for much of the sensationally popular 
music is entirely unfit for the use of religious groups. 
Music should stimulate high ideals at all times. 


The Annual Banquet 


The annual banquet may be made a big event in the 
class life. As with all other affairs, ample prepara- 
tion should be made to assure a success. A number 
of classes hold their annual elections at the class ban- 
quet. If that be the case, there will be need of but 
little other program, for the campaign speeches usually 
furnish all the entertainment that is necessary. In the 
event that no election is held, a more elaborate program 
may be worked out, including toasts and responses, 
special music and a special speaker who will bring a 
worth-while message. A joint banquet of the women’s 
class and the men’s class of corresponding grade has 
proved successful in at least one church school. 


Developing the Social Instincts 231 


Class Picmc 

The class picnic is usually a mixed picnic, each 
woman bringing her husband or if unmarried some 
man friend, It may also be a joint picnic between the 
men’s and women’s classes. The Entertainer must 
plan a bright, novel program, not too much like the 
annual Sunday school picnic. Let it be a day of real 
play. Provide croquet games, a number of soft in- 
door baseballs, volley ball and net and but little urging 
will be needed to induce every one to play informally. 
If the class will seek a picnic ground away from the 
beaten path, going in a special car or automobiles, in- 
terest will be heightened. If the picnic is properly 
planned, class members will look forward impatiently 
to the next annual return of the date. 


Mother-and-daughter Banquet 

The Mother-and-daughter Banquet has already been 
mentioned in connection with the class service activi- 
ties, but the Entertainer should not overlook the social 
value of such a meeting. Although the banquet should 
culminate in a definite spiritual message, there is ample 
opportunity for fun during the early part of the eve- 
ning. Mothers and daughters should play together as 
well as pray together. Humorous and sentimental 
songs, readings, sketches, toasts and a feature address 
will probably compose the program. In some cases the 
fathers and sons serve the banquet. 


The Young Women’s Reception 

In some classes there is given annually a reception 
to all the young women of the community. In college 
communities it may be a reception to all the new stu- 


232 The Women’s Class in Action 


dents coming to the high school or college. In such an 
event the Entertainer’s duty is to furnish the program 
and refreshments, while the Visitor and Vice-Presi- 
dent have charge of the attendance. A program of 
music and entertainment, a welcome by the class of- 
ficers and an inspirational address showing the value 
of class affiliation is appropriate. Refreshments need 
not be elaborate—dainty sandwiches, a simple salad, 
and ice cream or other light dessert are sufficient. 


Clubs 
The Entertainer will determine the likes and hobbies 
of each member so that she may provide activities for 


MAPLEWOOD AMOMA BIBLE CLASS 


Service and Social Preference Card 
tm 2505 ™ Ls 


I am especially interested in the following activities:- 


O Baseball (Indoor) O Chamber Music O Debating—Pub.Speaking 
O Basketball 0 Glee Club—Quartette O Socials 

0 Bowling O Mandolin or Ukelele Club Visitation 

O Croquet O Music Appreciation D Social Service 

O Hiking O Musical Entertainment © Home Making 

O Skating O Orchestra O Temperance 

O Swimming O Art O Girls Work 

O Tennis O Literature 0 Teacher Training 

O Volley Ball O Literary Entertainment 0 Missions 

O Camera Club 0 Humorous Oo 


Name 





FIGURE I7—SUGGESTION CARD FOR ENTERTAINER AND OTHER 
CLASS OFFICERS 


every one in the class. If some of the members desire 
to discuss art or music, a club might well be organized 
for those women. A camera club might interest a 
number of the members and would certainly be an 


Developing the Soctal Instincts 233 


attraction for the class. Other clubs can be organized 
for religious dramatics or nature study if there is a 
demand for them. A card record like Figure 17 will 
enable the Entertainer to determine what class needs 
she should try to meet. 


IV. MIXED ENTERTAINMENTS 


Many splendid social affairs may be given in con- 
nection with the men’s classes of corresponding grade. 
Care must be taken, however, to see that the partici- 
pating groups are really congenial. The writer has 
seen attempts at such cooperation result in a banner 
attendance of the women and a mere scattered repre- 
sentation of the men. This is usually because the men 
have chosen their women friends from some circle 
other than the class in question. If such a condition 
exists, the Entertainer should know about it and ar- 
range only mixed socials to which the men are invited 
to bring their friends and the women theirs. 

Saturday afternoon and evening picnics, hay rides, 
boat excursions, and hikes with wiener and marsh- 
mallow roasts at the end are always popular. Many 
men’s and women’s classes put forth efforts to have 
large delegations at the summer assemblies, groups 
camping together and joining with each other in the 
assemble activities. 

During the winter season there can be mixed par- 
ties galore—Thanksgiving parties, Halloween parties, 
Christmas parties, for those home from school on 
vacation, New Year’s watch parties, George Wash- 
ington parties, St. Patrick parties, Valentine parties, 
Easter parties and many others. 


234 The Women’s Class in Action 


Then there may be parties in between the fixed 
festival days. A peanut party in which all games, 
refreshments and decorations were based on the pea- 
nut has proved successful. There may be a farmers’ 
party in which all come dressed in rural costume and 
partake of doughnuts and cider; tacky parties to which 
all guests come dressed in some ridiculous costume 
are always amusing. Some of these suggestions may 
seem old-fashioned in this modern age, but an Enter- 
tainer with the right spirit can prove their perennial 
interest—they ‘‘take’’ even with younger adult groups, 

“School Days’ which has been well received in a 
number of adult groups is a type of easily prepared 
programs that are excellent socializers. The group is 
divided into ‘‘schools’”—two, three or more according 
to the number present. Each “school’’ chooses its 
leader, selects a name, originates yells, and develops 
the school spirit of those happy days. Speakers from 
each “‘school” introduce their leaders in glowing terms, 
and tell of the outstanding merits of their school 
to the accompanying laughter of their opponents. 
School debates are held on such subjects as “Resolved, 
that the chicken is of greater value to mankind than 
the cow’’-—the opposing debaters speaking at the same 
time. Friday afternoon, when every one speaks a piece, 
is reproduced, the speakers all speaking at once. Then 
there are athletic events: the shot put (dropping shot 
from chin into a glass on the floor); discus throw 
(using paper plates) ; the standing broad jump (school 
representative who grins most broadly); high jump 
(jumping from a low vocal note as high as possible). 
Judges are appointed to decide which school wins each 


Developing the Social Instincts 235 


event. There is usually a forfeit for any school caus- 
ing disturbance after time is called. 


V. OPEN ENTERTAINMENTS 


The class might well plan to have several entertain- 
ments each year to which the public is invited. These 
may be given entirely by the class or in connection with 
other classes or organizations. Such functions not 
only serve to furnish clean, high-class entertainment 
for the church members and their friends, but to ad- 
vertise the class to the community. 

One such entertainment might take the form of a 
musical evening, in which the vocal and instrumental 
talent of the class may be utilized. It is often possible 
to secure excellent outside talent at reasonable cost; 
such visitors enrich any program. If sufficient in- 
terest is shown, several musical lectures might be given, 
illustrated with piano and phonograph. There can be 
occasional literary programs, consisting of readings, 
sketches, debates, short lectures and possibly a little 
music for variety. Some classes have successfully pre- 
sented a series of popular lectures on literature, science, 
industry, arts, social problems, missions, etc. The 
Christian Home-makers of the Webster Groves (Mo.) 
Baptist Church school codperates with other women’s 
organizations in their church in presenting a lyceum 
course of high caliber. If a stereopticon or moving 
picture machine is part of the class equipment it will 
be found a valuable asset. High-class films are now 
being produced for use of religious organizations. 

Classes frequently present programs in order to 


236 The Women’s Class in Action 


secure funds for some worthy object. Such an aim 
should not obscure the greater social value of open 
entertainments to both the class and the community. 
Sometimes a silver offering is requested to cover 
expenses. 

Dramatics—either short sketches or longer plays— 
musical shows, minstrels, the “Old Deestrick Skule” 
and “Ye Old-fashioned Singing School’ entertain- 
ments are always enjoyable to both participants and 
audience. ‘They take time and effort to prepare, but 
are worth it from the social standpoint. The drama- 
tization of Bible stories is an as yet uncrowded field 
of social endeavor—although a number of women’s 
groups do this occasionally. This form of dramatics 
and pageantry is splendid for adults; it has high social 
value for the participants, giving the actors an insight 
into the characters they are portraying that no amount 
of listening to a teacher could possibly do. On the 
other hand, the pageant and dramatic performance are 
among the most impressive forms of teaching those 
who witness the presentations. 

The present writer does not approve of holding the 
lighter social entertainments in the church auditorium. 
The church ought to be always associated with wor- 
ship—let us not make it easy to associate it with less 
serious things. If the church has no social building, 
it is usually possible to rent a hall for ordinary dramatic 
performances. The religious drama and pageant cer- 
tainly are in place in the church auditorium—they are 
worship in every sense of the word. 

In the field of dramatics the Entertainer or the as- 
sistant in charge will find that strong leadership is a 
necessity—amateur actors are just as temperamental 


Developing the Social Instincts 237 


as the real ones are reputed to be. She will need tact 
and patience in abundance to bring the production to a 
successful conclusion. 


VI. THE CLASS PHYSICAL PROGRAM 


The Entertainer should have in mind the fourfold 
nature of mankind, mental, religious, social—and 
physical. The class can meet the physical needs of its 
members by organizing gymnasium clubs, a swimming 
club, bowling teams, indoor baseball teams and basket- 
ball teams. The class tennis court provides one of the 
most popular forms of athletics. For those who do 
not indulge in strenuous sports, there may be organized 
walking clubs to take long hikes on pleasant Sunday or 
Saturday afternoons; the men are usually invited to 
these hikes. 


VII. THE CLASS ROOM 


It will probably be well for the class to include the 
care of the class room among the duties of the Enter- 
tainer. The decoration of the room, the selection and 
placing of pictures on the walls, and carpets on the 
floors, curtains on the windows, and flowers on the 
table at class meetings are some things an Entertainer 
can do to make the room one of the most interesting 
places to which a woman can come. Make every effort 
to have the class room comfortable, inviting and home- 
like. It is easier to hold members in an inviting room 
than in one that is bare and uncomfortable. In this 
connection do not forget ventilation. Many a good 
lesson has been utterly ruined by a vitiated atmosphere. 


238 The Women’s Class in Action 


The class can easily secure pictures to decorate the 
room—prints of famous masterpieces are obtained at 
reasonable prices—photographs taken by members are 
frequently valuable additions to the walls—the picture 
of the class itself should of course be hung. It is well 
to take an annual class picture—the members will like 
it and it will be useful in class advertising. 


VIII. CONCLUDING HINTS 


In carrying out the-work of Entertainer, the officer 
should be guided by four suggestions, which if carried 
out will bring success to crown her efforts. 

1. Give members frequent opportunity for prac- 
ticing sociability. 

2. Make every member feel that the success of the 
class socials depends on Minar to get the coopera- 
tion of all. 

3. Have enough assistants. It is easy to become 
discouraged if one tries to do all the work. In a class 
of forty members the Entertainer should at least have 
assistants in charge of dramatics, refreshments, busi- 
ness meeting entertainment, class room, music, and 
physical activities. 

4. Keep a complete record of work done—it will be 
an invaluable indication as to what the class wants and 
doesn’t want as well as a guide to future Entertainers. 
The Entertainer will, of course, do much work her- 
self—she may take actual charge of certain depart- 
ments of the work—but she should aim to be rather a 
guiding spirit of the social activities of the class. 
There is need to-day for such a class executive who will 
plan new and helpful ways of turning the social instinct 


Developing the Social Instincts 239 


into the channels where it may be developed and exer- 
cised to the glory of God. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Barclay-Phifer, “The Adult Worker and Work.” Ch. IX. 
Geister, “Ice Breakers. The Ice Breaker Herself.” 
Miller, “The Dramatization of Bible Stories.” 

Reisner, “Social Plans for Young People.” 

Wells, ““The Ideal Adult Class.” Ch. VIII. 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


1. How is your class meeting the social needs of its 
members? Are they being adequately met? What im- 
provements can be made in your social program? 

2. Can the women’s Bible class compete with com- 
mercialized amusements in meeting the social needs of its 
members? 

3. Can the class plan a social program that will 
correlate with the extra-class social activities of the 
membership? 

4. Discuss the value of adult play. Does the average 
woman play enough? What can the class do to establish 
right play ideals? 


CHAPTER XV 
WHAT THE LIBRARIAN CAN DO 


I. THE LIBRARIAN 


HE office of Librarian of the Women’s Bible 
Class is one of almost unlimited opportunity to 
a woman with a vision. If possible a woman who 
reads quite a bit—a book lover—should be chosen for 
the office. She should be familiar with literature in 
general and with church school literature in particular. 
If she has the ability to talk interestingly about books 
her value to the class will be increased. 


II. THE LIBRARY 


General Library 


If the class has a library, this at once becomes the 
center of the Librarian’s activities. In most communi- 
ties the public library has made the church school or 
class library of fiction unnecessary. In the event that 
the class conducts a reading or social room, a library 
adds to its attractiveness if it is kept up to date. It 
will probably be advisable for the class to arrange to 
receive regular deposits of late books from the public 
library for reading room purposes. 

In some of the smaller communities there is still. 
found the need for a general library. If the need 
exists, the class may well fill it. Members of the class, 

240 


What the Librarian Can Do 241 


church and community may be asked to donate books 
which they may have—many libraries have been started 
in this way. It should be understood that all donations 
are subject to class approval—no church school library 
should become the dumping ground of literary refuse. 


Class Workers’ Library 


Every women’s Bible class should have a working 
library of religious books and books of methods to 
enable it better to carry on its work. Such a library 
will contain books on adult methods, social service, 
Bible study, missions, child training, and reference 
books for use in connection with study courses, such 
as Bible dictionaries, concordances, commentaries, 
church histories, social surveys, municipal or county 
reports, and government reports on immigration, child 
welfare, education, etc. The reference lists given at 
the end of each chapter are suggestive of material that 
should find a place in the class library. 


School Workers’ Library 


The class workers’ library may be more useful if 
conducted in conjunction with the church school work- 
ers’ library. If there is no workers’ library in the 
school, the Librarian should not let pass the oppor- 
tunity of pushing such a proposition, With the aid of 
the class Teacher, Pastor and Superintendent, books 
should be selected which will be suitable for workers 
in every department of church and church school. The 
Librarian will need catalogues of leading publishers of 
religious literature, a number of whom are listed in 
the appendix. From these she will be able to find many 
suggestions for the class or school library. 


242 The Women’s Class in Action 


Any class of women can follow the plan used by the 
author’s class of men in building a school worker’s 
library. The Librarian secured pledges from all the 
societies and the older Bible classes for one book a 
month toward the library, same to be selected by the 
Librarian. At the end of a year the school possessed 
a library of over sixty well-chosen and helpful books 
on all phases of church school, organized class, and 
young people’s work. 


Parents’ Library 


A parents’ library can be made a real service to the 
homes of the community. If the class Librarian should 
do nothing more in a year’s term of office than to 
develop such a library and get the books circulated 
effectively, her work would have been eminently worth 
while. Obviously, the parents’ library will contain 
popular books on the psychology of childhood and 
adolescence, child training problems, children’s stories, 
home worship and the like.* The scope may well be 
broadened to include books on home-making in gen- 
eral—dietetics, budgeting, home decoration, and rec- 
reation in the home. A well-planned parents’ library 
is a decided asset to any class of women—one that 
can be advertised and which convinces outsiders that 
the class is truly interested in ‘‘folks.”’ 


Working the Library 

The finest library in the world is of little value if 
the books remain unread. The Librarian should make 
every effort to see that the books are actually used. 


1 Those books mentioned in Chapter VII as being suitable for 
parent study groups are desirable for a parents’ library, 


What the Librarian Can Do 243 


Workers’ books can usually be effectively distributed 
at the school workers’ conference, or individually to 
class officers. Books in connection with special courses 
of study may be distributed at the class sessions. 
Parent problem books can be circulated by the exten- 
sion visitors or the Home Department. 

A. careful record should be kept of all books taken 
out of the library. People have a tendency to forget 
that they have a book, unless they are occasionally 
reminded of it. No elaborate records are needed. A 
number of very good records are available from the 
publishing houses; or the librarian may simply use a 
notebook allotting one page to a book, and recording 
under that book the days and name of person taking 
it, checking it off when returned. 


Ill. AT THE SUNDAY SESSIONS 


The Librarian is the custodian of the class Bibles 
and song books. She will see that they are distributed 
before the session so that every one present may be 
provided, and, more important still, she will see that 
they are properly collected after the class session, and 
stored in a cabinet provided for the purpose. In large 
classes she will very likely have one or more assistants 
to do this part of the work. 

Supplementary literature for use with the Sunday 
lessons offers the Librarian further opportunity for 
service. Many teachers furnish typewritten outlines 
of the lesson to the class. These will be distributed 
by the Librarian. In the case of social service and 
mission courses, a large amount of leaflet material on 
the subject is available—much is free, while some car- 


244 The Women’s Class in Action 


ries a nominal charge. This material may be obtained 
from the publishing houses and from the mission 
boards. The Librarian should write the several boards 
for lists of available leaflet material. She will find that 
interest in class work is stimulated by the judicious dis- 
tribution of these tracts. ‘The printed word is one 
excellent supplement to the impression made by the 
Teacher in the lesson period. 

The Librarian should also encourage the use of cur- 
rent textbooks in connection with study courses. She 
should find out which members want the books and 
secure them for those members. She will, of course, 
work very closely with the teacher in such matters— 
and may be of considerable assistance in stimulating 
wider class study. 


IV. THE CLASS BULLETIN 


If the class publishes a class paper, or if the class 
uses certain space in the church bulletin each week, the 
Librarian should be careful to preserve a complete file 
of issues. 

A class bulletin serves as a running history of the 
class, and grows more valuable with the passing 
years—not only from a sentimental point of view, but 
as a guide for future workers. The files of the class 
organ should be bound into volumes containing the 
copies for one year, and placed in the class library. 

The farsighted Librarian will preserve more than — 
one copy of each bulletin. At the end of the year she 
will find that there is a demand for complete sets on 
the part of the officers and other interested workers. 

The time to assure having a complete file of the class 


What the Librarian Can Do . 245 


paper is at the time publication is started. A certain 
class neglected to preserve its files and several years 
later strenuous efforts on the part of the Librarian were 
necessary to try to build a complete file. A number of 
private files were brought to light, but it was impossible 
to secure all the missing issues. 

If found desirable, the Librarian may also have 
charge of the bulletin mailing list. She will then mail 
copies each week to absentees, to recent visitors whose 
addresses are known, to members out of the city on 
business or on vacations, and to those who have per- 
manently removed to another community, but who still 
are interested in the class work. Some classes mail a 
bulletin to all visitors at their home addresses for two 
or three weeks after their attendance. All this helps 
to advertise the class and to build good will. 


V. MISCELLANEOUS PLANS 


Book Talks 


A monthly book talk of five or six minutes duration 
can be made very enjoyable. Reviews of late books 
of interest to class members could be given during the 
period allotted for the talk. If the books are of a 
religious or inspirational nature, this talk might well 
be given during a Sunday session; if only of general 
literary interest, the monthly business and social meet- 
ing will probably be the better place to have it. 

The book talk may often be a quiz on some book 
which the class is studying, or may be a summary of 
some literary news of general interest—the death of 
noted writers, composers, or something similar, 


246 The Women’s Class in Action 
Current Topic Talks 


Five-minute current topic talks by various members 
add variety to the Sunday session. Appoint speakers 
in advance and let them select some news event of 
the week, from which to draw a moral or ethical lesson, 
whenever possible tying up the talk with the regular 
class lessons. Such talks may logically be conducted 
under the direction of the Librarian. 


Literary Counselor 


The Librarian will be virtually a literary guide to the 
class membership. She may suggest suitable reading 
courses on subjects which the class is studying or along 
lines of the individual interests of the members. A 
splendid series of reading course outlines for parents 
and also on subjects of general interest may be secured 
free from the U. S. Bureau of Education. She will 
encourage the building of a home library. A splendid 
way to do this is by urging the members to purchase 
the textbooks being used by the class. After several 

years’ attendance at class a member will have a credible 
- nucleus for a worth-while library. The Librarian may 
also recommend late books and articles in current 
magazines, 

Investigation will often reveal many homes in which 
there is no Bible and many more in which there is no 
regular reading of it. The Librarian can be of in- 
valuable service in helping members select the Bible 
best suited for use. This should by all means be the - 
American Standard Revision, bound with such helps 
as the member may need. She may also recommend 
suitable Bible dictionaries, commentaries and con- 


What the Librarian Can Do 247 


cordances which will enable the student to use her Bible 
properly. 

The Librarian can do no better than to codperate 
with the Teacher in stimulating the daily reading of 
the Bible. She can furnish pledge and record cards 
for daily Bible readers—those supplied by the boards” 
or young people’s societies are very good. She should 
also conduct frequent quizzes on the daily Bible reading 
course outlined by the Teacher. 


Story-Telling 


In every church school there is need for many more 
story-tellers than can be found—for use in worship 
programs, banquets, dramatic sermons, etc. Let the 
Librarian first find out who can tell stories and ar- 
range with the department superintendents to use those 
members from time to time. Then she might select 
additional members with possibilities and organize a 
class to study and practice story-telling. A plan of 
that sort will have the whole-hearted support of prac- 
tically every superintendent in the land, and will at the 
same time afford hours of real enjoyment for the story- 
tellers. 

Conditions in local classes may make it impossible to 
use all the plans here suggested. In some classes the 
Librarian may develop plans not mentioned in this 
chapter. It is easily seen, though, that the office of 
Librarian is just as important in the scheme of class 
organization as the incumbent makes it. It is up to 
the class to elect a woman to the office who will choose 
to make it a force in class development. 


248 The Women’s Class in Action 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Morse, “The Workers’ Library,” Sunday School Worker, 
October, 1920. 
Tralle, “Story Telling Lessons.” 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


1. Should the class attempt to meet the general read- 
ing needs of the community? 

2. How can a parents’ library become a class asset? 

3. Is there a place for a “library counselor” in the 
women’s Bible class? 

4. Have you a librarian in your class? What does 
she do? Which of the plans suggested in this chapter 
can be worked in your class? 


CHAPTER XVI 
ADVERTISING THE CLASS 


I. THE CASE FOR ADVERTISING 


“HO” beautiful upon the mountains are the feet 
of him that bringeth good tidings, that pub- 
lisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that 
publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, “Thy God 
reigneth!’ ” 

In that statement of the prophet is a succinct sum- 
mary of the work of the women’s Bible class. Good 
tidings, peace, salvation—isn’t that the message of the 
women’s classes to the world? ‘To-day, no less than 
2,500 years ago, it is still obligatory upon those striv- 
ing to raise the social and religious ideals of the world 
to publish the good news—to advertise. 

Derived from the Latin, ad verto, the word advertise 
literally means to “turn toward.”’ In its broadest sense, 
therefore, the class Vice-President, who personally 
visits prospective members and interests them in the 
class—who tells them what the class is doing—who 
turns their thoughts toward the class—is advertising, 
although it is true the medium is of more limited cir- 
culation than a newspaper. The message set in type 
and circulated through the mails or placed in a news- 
paper or on a bulletin board carries the story of class 
activities to many more people, with considerably less 
expenditure of energy than personal calling requires. 

When it is recognized that advertising is simply per- 

249 


250 The Women’s Class in Action 


sonal solicitation or salesmanship multiplied, much of 
the opposition to advertising religion and religious in- 
stitutions quickly disappears. It is not difficult, how- 
ever, to muster sufficient evidence from the Bible itself 
in favor of advertising religion, if that is needed to 
ease one’s conscience. 

Christ himself gives us the example. True, He 
used no newspapers or poster boards. He did, how- 
ever, send his disciples out to tell the good news to all 
creation. He, too, attracted attention by His startling 
teachings, by His dramatic activities, of which the 
cleansing of the temple is typical, and by the mighty 
miracles which He performed. “Go ye into all the 
world,” said He at the end, “and preach [publish] the 
gospel [good news] to all creation.” Yes, Jesus be- 
lieved in advertising—in turning the attention of the 
whole world toward His teachings. 

That Christ and His teachings have been effectively 
advertised may well be judged by the extent of the 
influence of Christianity in the world to-day. And that 
advertising has been done through the world’s most 
effective piece of advertising literature—the Bible— 
with a circulation greater than that of any other book 
in the world’s history. 


What Has the Class to Advertise? 


The women’s Bible class has the best advertising 
proposition in the world to-day—Christianity. The re- 
ligion of Jesus is the one thing that every one needs— 
that has within itself an appeal suited to every heart - 
and mind. The class should use every means at its 
command to propagate the gospel in its community. It 
must give those it wants to reach facts regarding class 


Advertising the Class 251 


aims and principles; it should tell prospective members 
about its study courses and about the Teacher ; it should 
inform them of class activities, religious and social; 
it must make the women of the community feel that 
they should be part of the organization. In our 
modern complicated social order it is impossible for 
individuals to carry class messages with the frequency 
required to make a permanent impression. Some form 
of the printed word must be relied upon to keep the 
class fresh in the minds of prospective members. 


II. THE PUBLICITY DIRECTOR 


Having decided to advertise, the class should select 
one woman, who is usually called the Reporter, to take 
charge of all publicity endeavor. The ability to write 
correctly, convincingly and entertainingly should be 
the yardstick used in choosing this officer. Often the 
Reporter must gather and write all the publicity mat- 
ter. Even when others in the class supply some of the 
material, the Reporter will in many cases have to re- 
write it to suit her needs. The Reporter should have 
what the newspaper people call “a nose for news.” 
That is, she must be able to recognize which particular 
class happenings are of interest only to class members, 
which carry community interest, which have possibili- 
ties of wider denominational interest, and which are 
valueless. This writer has seen Reporters who failed to 
see news in such items as a class President or Teacher 
being placed upon a convention program, who saw no 
value to the class in giving local papers facts about 
some special piece of work the class was doing. The 
function of the class Reporter is to use all legitimate 


252 The Women’s Class in Action 


means to bring the class to the attention of the public 
it wants to reach. A little reading and some thinking 
will do wonders in making an acceptable publicity direc- 
tor of the woman elected to fill the office of Reporter. 


III. SOME ADVERTISING FUNDAMENTALS 


Know Your Proposition 


If class advertising is to be successful, the publicity 
program must be based upon certain basic advertising 
principles. It may appear obvious that the first essen- 
tial in productive advertising is to know intimately 
the commodity or service being advertised—yet the 
lack of this knowledge is a characteristic weakness of 
many campaigns. Those in charge of class advertising 
should make a careful study of the class and its work. 
Is the organization rendering a service to its members 
and the community that is worth advertising? Has it 
a definite, appealing program? What are the specific 
points that the advertising should stress? Who are 
the logical prospects? Are there possibilities for mem- 
bership among some women who at first appear to be 
outside of the class sphere of endeavor? What com- 
petition does the class have to meet? These are a few 
of the questions the Reporter must ask herself—and 
answer—before planning a campaign. 


Know Your Prospects 


It is obvious, again, that the Reporter must know - 
those to whom the class advertising is directed. How 
do they live? What are their habits? Are they well 
educated, only fairly well, or poorly? What are the 
attitudes of these women toward the church in general 


Advertising the Class y ge 


and toward the class in particular? What objections 
do they raise to attending the class sessions? 


Advertising Must Gain Favorable Attention 


Knowing the women the class is trying to reach 1s 
one step toward the achievement of this third prin- 
ciple: the advertisements to be successful must be read 
by those to whom they are directed. To that end they 
must be sufficiently attractive to get the reader’s atten- 
tion and written to awaken her interest. The class 
might have a boy dressed like a clown ride a mule 
carrying an advertising banner through the streets. 
Such an advertisement would undoubtedly attract at- 
tention—but not favorable attention. The advertising 
appeal must be in keeping with the dignity of the 
class—a legitimate appeal to reason and feeling. 


Advertising Must Create Desire 

The next task of class advertising is to create desire 
for the things the class has to offer. The writer of 
the copy should give definite reasons why a woman 
should join the class—she must make the reader ac- 
tually feel the power of the class—make her want to 
join. The Reporter must consequently be one of the 
most interested women in the class—able to present 
facts so that they simply glow. 


Advertising Must Be Convincing 

The advertising of a women’s Bible class should 
above everything inspire confidence. No exaggerations 
nor misstatements should be permitted under any con- 
ditions. Unless the advertising message does carry 
conviction the class cannot hope for permanent results, 


254 The Women’s Class in Action 
Advertising Should Induce Action 


The final purpose of advertising is to influence to 
action, Those addressed in the advertising should be 
induced to do something—to visit the class—to return 
a card enclosed to secure a definite response—to state 
why they may not be able to attend class—to send in 
a reservation for a banquet. The amount of action 
secured depends upon the sincerity of the message, 
its physical attractiveness and the way the class backs 
by performance its advertising promises. 


Adequate Advertising Necessary. 


Big results from advertising should not be expected 
too quickly. Experiments have shown that experi- 
ences are quickly forgotten. Therefore, in order to 
secure full value from advertising there must be fre- 
quent repetition. Not only that, but one forgets as 
much in the first ten units of time following an ex- 
perience as she will during the next twenty-five units. 
The class in planning its advertising program should 
concentrate more advertising at the start of a cam- 
paign than will be used later on. In judging the results 
of advertising, remember that even personal calls do 
not secure 100 per cent of the prospects called upon— 
and the cost is greater than the use of printer’s ink. 


Choice of Media 


To reach its prospects, the class should use all the 
advertising media that will serve its purpose. This 
may include newspapers, the denominational press, 
class papers, posters, lantern slides, letters, printed 
cards, circulars, booklets, street-car cards, etc. Not 
only should the class accept the courtesy of the press, 


Advertising the Class 255 


as outlined later, but should also use paid advertising 
space as liberally as possible. 


Personal Follow-up 


So that classes wishing to advertise may escape one 
of the most dangerous advertising pitfalls, the last 
principle is given in the form of the warning: Don’t 
expect advertising to do tt all, “Advertising,” says 
a leading advertising agency man, “in the strict sense 
of the word does not sell goods, but creates a state of 
mind.”’ ‘That’s the big load of Bible class advertis- 
ing—to develop attitudes favorable to the class and its 
work, Although some direct results will be secured, 
it is essential, especially in building membership, to 
follow printed advertisements with personal effort. 
Letters and circulars make prospective members more 
approachable,—they pave the way for calls. Since the 
printed message lacks much of the vital personality of 
face-to-face communication, and since personal visita- 
tion is comparatively slow, it follows that both methods 
can supplement each other effectively. 


IV. USING THE MAILS 


Letters 

Because of its adaptability to practically every class 
situation, direct-by-mail advertising is the most fre- 
quently used form. And of the various direct adver- 
tising forms (so called because they go direct from the 
class to definite prospects) letters are the simplest, and 
because of their personal appeal, often the most effec- 
tive. Don’t mistake simplicity of form for ease of 


256 The Women’s Class in Action 


THE PHILATHEA CLASS 


PARKLAND BAPTIST CHURCH 


Louisville, Ky. 


Officers: 


President MRS. T. J. TIERNEY, Jn 
Vice-Pres. MISS EVELYN CAMPBELL 
Secretary MISS GRACE L HARDWAY 
Treasurer MISS JEAN EK. SMITH 





FIGURE I8—HALF OF A GOOD LETTER IS AN ATTRACTIVE LETTERHEAD. 
THIS LETTERHEAD INDICATES THAT THE CLASS IS WORKING 


Advertising the Class 255 


preparation, however; good letters require very careful 
study before writing. 

In writing advertising letters the writer should build 
according to definite laws of human behavior. She 
should remember that suggesting action is usually more 
effective than pleading or commanding. Salesman- 
ship is, in a sense, education, so the same appeal to 
instincts—parental, social, cultural, fear, ambition, 
pride, etc., may well be made in letters. Above all, 
the letter should avoid antagonizing the reader, A 
certain letter began: 


You don’t know what you’re missing by not attend- 
ing the Class. 





That opening is bad because it is apt to antagonize 
the reader, who is told that she doesn’t know some- 
thing. The writer should rather make the reader feel 
that she is missing something by not attending the 
class. This opening is much better: 


The fact that an average of 78 women have been 
present at the Class sessions during the past 
quarter indicates that there 7s something worth 
while to be had there. 





And so is this, which appeals to at least four instincts > 


“The Class is a decided asset to the homes of 
this city,’—that’s what Mrs. , President of 
the Women’s Federation, said last Sunday after 
attending the class meeting. Here are a few of 
the activities that prompted that remark: 








As has been suggested in the foregoing paragraph, 


258 The Women’s Class in Action 


the opening of a letter is most important. An inane 
beginning such as: 


Bible Class, 





You are urged to attend the 


is a fairly certain way of assuring one’s self that the 
letter will be unread. ‘The letter’s first sentence must 
get the interest of the reader. It should be written 
from her standpoint—not that of the class. It is pos- 
sible to get this “you” attitude into a letter without 
even using the word, as in the following opening 
paragraph: | 


For months a number of us have looked forward to 
the time when we could have in our Sunday 
school a class for the mothers of our boys and 
girls. Every week one or more mothers have 
asked for sucha class. Now they are to have one. 


Notice how this opening suggests the filling of a 
long-felt need. Observe also the friendly conversa- 
tional style in which letters should always be couched— 
letters, after all, are just written conversation. 

The term “‘opening” is, after a fashion, an anomaly 
when applied to letters. When you have something to 
say, say it without formal introductions. Strictly 
speaking then, the letter’s opening is really the be- 
ginning of its body. It is in the body of the letter 
where the argument is developed in logical order. Give 
definite reasons for asking your reader to do what 
you want her to—too many letters are simply pages full 
of glittering generalities. It is well also to anticipate 
some of the objections that are likely to be raised. It 
is obvious that the body of the letter must sustain the 


Advertising the Class 259 


interest aroused by the opening. Note, on page 
260 (Fig. 19), the development of the letter started 
above. 

After you have told your story, tell your reader 
what you want her to do—that’s the function of the 
close. Do you want her to attend class? Invite her; 
tell her how to get to the meeting place and who to 
expect to see when she gets there. Perhaps you may 
want her to return a card indicating her interest, tell- 
ing why she can’t or won’t attend the class sessions—or 
to mail in a reservation for a banquet or other social 
affair. Put all the feeling at your command into the 
letter to make your prospect feel the way you feel. 

For a letter to be completely successful, certain 
physical factors must be considered. As the appear- 
ance of a letter from the class reflects the class, use 
good paper. Have personally written, or at least multi- 
graphed, letters. In the case of small classes, stencil 
or wax-plate duplication may have to be used because 
of the expense. If the letters are to go to class mem- 
bers, they may be mailed third class, but if the class 
can possibly afford it, first-class mail should be used. 
In writing to prospects always use two-cent stamps. It 
is desirable, too, to sign the letters personally, rather 
than to type in the signature. In deciding how many 
times to follow absentees, or to write prospects, the 
same rule should apply as with personal calling—write 
until you know there is no possible chance of winning 
them to the class. It is desirable to change the angle 
of approach on such follow-up letters—appeal to pride 
in one letter, to the service motive in another, to 
parental instinct in the third, ete. A number of suc- 
cessful classes have built a large attendance just by 


260 The Women’s Class in Action 


THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 
©. B. Shinall, YntSe Principal 


Mise Anne Hibler, Junior Principe) Maplewood Baptist Church 
Mrs. A. F. Wyard, Primary Principal REV. W. L NASH, Pastor 
Mrs. A. W. Schwastz, Beginners Prin. F. HARVEY MORSE. 6UPERINTENOENT 
MARSHALL AND MARIETTA AVES. 
MAPLEWOOD, MO. 


May 5, 1024. 


‘Announcing the New 
MOTHER’S CLASS 

to be organized 

MOTHERS DAY -- May 11 


Dear Triond:-~» 


-For months a number of us have looked forward to the 
time when we could have in. our Synday School a class for the mothers 
of our boys and girle. Every week one or more mothers have asked for 
euch @ Class -- now they are_to have it! 


This new class will meet with the echool next Sunday 
morning at 9:30 for its first session. _ We want you to be one of the 
eharter wambers., 


Here is what the Class offers: 


An experienced teacher of women sécond to none in 
St. Louts -- Mrs. 8. 0. Ware. Mre, Ware is sound 
in doctrine, spiritually mindéd and always prac- 
tical in her applications of Bible teachings; 

@. Opportunity for thorough Bible study along the 
lines of your own groatest needs; 22 .s~-- ae 

Constructive suggestions for developing more effi= 
oient, Christ-like homes -- real help in Christian) 
home-making, child training and devotional living; 

The development of a congenial fellowship among 
women of like interests; 

A challenge, to follow Christ.in active, organised 
Christian service. 


You'll like this new class; you'll 14Xe the other women; 
you'll like Wrs. Ware and her teaching; you'll enjoy the sessions and 
recoive real practical benefit from every one of them. Come and meet 
with us in the main abditorium next Sunday -- Mothers Dey -- at 9:30, 
and bring a friend... We want you -- we'll be looking for you! Mra 


Cordially yours, 


OY faves Veen 
UPERINT! Ey 


P.8. A Mothers Day Carnation will be given each ofte attending the class. 





FIGURE IQ—-LETTERS ARE THE SIMPLEST FORM OF ADVERTISING—AND 
ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE MEANS OF REACHING NEW MEM- 
BERS OR RECLAIMING OLD ONES. THIS LETTER IS THE FIRST 
PIECE IN A CAMPAIGN TO RECRUIT MEMBERS FOR A NEW CLASS 


Advertising the Class 261 


constantly telling their stories to prospective members 
through the mails. 


As far as possible, it is well to build each letter or 
other advertisement around one definite point, although 
summaries of the class proposition are sometimes 
valuable. 


Mailing Cards 


It is a good plan to vary the advertising forms used— 
send cards instead of letters every once in a while. 


Were YOU There? 


q Seventeen interested women were present last Sunday at the 
first session of the new Women’s class organized at the 
Maplewood Baptist Sunday School! 


q If you were one of the seventeen, you know what a splendid 
message Mrs. Ware brought. 


This new class is a permanent organization which aims to serve its members, 
its church, and its community, You'll find that membership in it is worth all 

" the time and effort required to attend, The class offers both the opportunity 
to render Christian service and to receive the benefits of Christian fellowship 
and skillfal, constructive teaching. 


If you were unable to come out last week, why not come next 
Sunday? .A genuine welcome and an inspiring hour await 
you. Come! 


NEW WOMEN’S BIBLE CLASS 


Every Sunday Morning at the 


Maplewood Baptist Sunday School 
Worship Service, 9:30 A. M. Lesson Period, 10 A. M. 





FIGURE 20—A WELL LAID-OUT MAILING CARDS BE SECOND PIECE 
IN A CAMPAIGN TO BUILD A NEW WOMEN'S CLASS 


Mailing cards may be standard government cards with 
a printed, written, typewritten or multigraphed mes- 
sage; or they may be mailing cards of different size 
from that of the government card. The same prin- 
ciples of writing copy as apply te the writing of letters 


262 The Women’s Class in Action 


also apply to cards, except that printed cards may be 
less personal in copy appeal, and necessarily briefer. 


BIBLE CLASS 


THIRD BAPTIST CHURCH 
GRAND & WASHINGTON. 


. 
REAPERS | 


the service of those who need.’ 


Composed of _youug pbusiness women, - 
including young married women, whose 
business is home building. 


Sunday Morning 9:30, Reaper Room. 
Class Business Meeting, First Thurs- 
day in each month. 


*¢Thé fellowship. of: thosé who love- to | 


Group  sabigircnemremaneaes 4 in the. homes, 





FIGURE 2I—COVER OF A FOUR-PAGE INVITATION FOLDER; SEE INSIDE 
PAGES, FIGURE 22 


Folders, Circulars, Booklets 


A logical development of the letter is the folder or 
circular. These forms are usually of more permanent 


Advertising the Class 263 


value than letters—they are frequently included with 
letters to give more facts about the class than is pos- 
sible in a letter. The Reapers’ Bible Class folder, illus- 
trated, contains not only an invitation but also a list 
of officers, names of class missionaries and facts about 


OFFICERS , 4 CLUB HOUSE 
Mrs. E. 8. Pillsbury—Teacher . jee at Stonehenge, Mo, on the 
Mr. J. O. Bohne—Associate T abe weg tyne 
cr Ptah ete ee: ‘enrcad Bedcapaiag, bite delightful camp life, free 
Ls ms 2 Lie Clas H 0 “thembers 
Eunice Wright—President i ‘Edith Wilson—Custodian | 
Edna Kuntz—lst Vice-President —_————_—— -- at 
Marion Tyzzer—2nd Vice-President - - Onur Entertainer arranges Parties and 
Delma Kreite—Reeording Secretary Social affajrs frequently, to which our friends 
Maude Dealy—Corresponding Seeretary | ip aiwaye thy sen, 
Gladys Heintz—Treasurer _ 
, We are proud of our Home Dept.” = ie 
Mrs. E. H. Gares—Home Department } you are unable to attend Sunday School regu- 
Ada Kinslow—Visitor “larly, but are interested in studying. ‘the les- 
Mrs, W. D. Grant—Entertainer / 1 son,.we invite you to joiy us in this way. 
\ mae ss We are a part of the Church’ and our 
Lillie --Reporter object is to help win souls for Christ. 
Hy : Come and hear our Teacher, you’ll like her. 
_/ COMMITTEES Visit the Class 3 Sundays, and become a 
Bazaar—Mra Robt. Schuster, Chairman. . seeneks : ‘ 
House Com--Mrs. W. E, Atkins, Mrs. Chas,” | “We turn over our entire 8. 9. collection 
Westphal. | fs the 8. S. Treasurer. Our elass activities 
Cub House—Edith Wilsoi, Margaret Coons, are financed by special contributions and the 
QGjadys Ingles. untiring efforts of our members who serve 
Reeeption—Effa Cottrell. suppers, arrange for our Annual Bazaar, 


take orders for Christmas Cards, ete. 


Our Birthday Fund is used, exclusively for 
tharitable purposes, 


Birthday Bank-—Fay Mulligan. 


BEAPER MISSIONARIES _ 
Katherine Bohn gaswo....-...-- . China’ 
Florence Jones x.......5..... ...-Ching ff Introduced by 





FIGURE 22—INSIDE OF THE FOLDER ILLUSTRATED IN FIGURE 2I. NOTE 
HOW COMPLETELY THE WRITER HAS COVERED THE WORK OF THE 
CLASS—HOW SHE HAS INCLUDED ITEMS TO APPEAL TO VARIOUS 
INTERESTS 


the class social and service activities. There is also 
enclosed an “Acquaintance Card” of introduction. 
The Marathon Class of the M. E. Church South, 
Lexington, Mo., and the T. E. L. Class of the First 
Baptist Church, Shawnee, Okla., issue well-printed 
booklets containing names of officers and members, 


264 The Women’s Class in Action 


list of activities and the class constitution and by-laws. 
A number of classes just print the class constitution 
for distribution to the members. The Character 
Builders of the Madison Heights M. E. Church, 
Memphis, Tenn., have reprinted in an attractive invi- 
tation folder a portion of an address by a guest teacher 
of the class. A Chicago Wesleyan Bible Class issued 
a little leaflet containing special Christmas and New 
Year programs—splendid advance advertising. Some 
classes also issue folders containing outlines of the 
class study course—another good advertising feature. 


The Mailing List 


Before doing any mailing the Reporter should build 
good mailing lists. The first list will be that of 
members. The Reporter will then codperate with the 
Visitor in building a good mailing list of prospects, 
which may be divided into prospects for active mem- 
bership and those for extension membership. Names 
for these lists may be secured from the church school 
rolls—parents of pupils—and from the church clerk— 
women church members not active in the school. A 
community canvass will supply names of prospects 
from outside the church. Accurately spelled names and 
correct addresses are essential to successful mail ad- 
vertising—letters that don’t reach prospects can’t bring 
them into the class. 


Laying Out Printed Matter 


It is impossible in a brief discussion of advertising 
such as this to go into detail regarding type and lay- 
out. Asa rule, this phase of class advertising may be 


Advertising the Class 265 


entrusted very largely to a competent printer. One or 
two cautions may be worth while: first, don’t permit 
the printer to crowd your printed matter—leave plenty 
of “white space’ around the type; don’t let him use 
different faces of type in one advertisement or in one 
booklet—in general it is better from the standpoint of 
appearance to use combinations of one “family” of 
type containing the same characteristics (families are 
made in light and black face, italic, small capitals, etc.) ; 
and finally, don’t allow him to make every alternate 
line a display headline—headlines are for emphasis, but 
all emphasis is no emphasis. Remember, too, that long 
sentences or paragraphs in all capital letters or in italic 
are hard to read—use them sparingly. 


V. THE CLASS PAPER 


Its Place 


As a means of stimulating class spirit and interest, 
it is hard to surpass a class paper. In it are published 
not only the important announcements, but also those 
little interesting happenings among the members. The 
class paper becomes, in short, a continuous history of 
the class, its work, its members and its achievements. 
As those who belong to the class see in cold type just 
what the class is accomplishing, they realize more than 
would otherwise be possible the influence of their or- 
ganization—a feeling of respect for the class is created 
where perhaps indifference formerly existed. Issues of 
the class paper describing class activities are excellent 
to circulate among prospective members to show them 
just what the class is accomplishing. 


266 The Women’s Class in Action 


Management 


In the average class the Reporter will usually be the 
editor of the class paper, although in larger classes 
there may be assistants to handle certain phases of 
the work, such as personals, news of entertainments, 
news of athletic activities, news of related organiza- 
tions, etc. The Reporter ought not to be expected to 
secure all items for the class paper herself. All mem- 
bers should be impressed with the importance of giving 
her such news items as come to their attention; she 
should solicit occasional articles for publication as in- 
dicated later in the chapter; then she will have only 
the work of arranging this matter properly for the 
printer. 


Types of Papers 

Several types of class papers are being used with 
satisfaction. Some strong classes issue each Sunday 
well-printed papers of one, two, four and sometimes 
eight pages. A number of smaller classes find that 
bi-weekly or monthly papers are well suited to their 
needs. In many cases classes that cannot afford printed 
papers publish inexpensive bulletins reproduced by a 
stencil or wax plate duplicating machine. It is pos- 
sible to print the outside in a standard design for the 
year and then put fresh matter on the inside pages each 
week by means of the duplicating machine. One small 
class bought a small wax plate duplicator and issued’ 
a hand-written bulletin each week. There is hardly a 
class that cannot have a class paper if it really wants 
one. 

If the church school publishes a school paper, the 
Reporter should secure sufficient space in each issue 


Advertising the Class 267 


for the live class news. Or if the church has a bulletin, 
the class may be assigned a portion for its use. 


Editing the Paper 


The editorial contents of the class paper determine 
its standing among the members. If the paper is to 
be merely a reprint of poems or other clipped matter, 
it will be accepted in a spirit of apathetic tolerance; 
if it is filled with jokes alone it will not have the respect 
of the readers. 

The Reporter should aim to make the class paper 
informative. News items about the class and its 
members, both serious and those in a lighter vein, will 
find place in the columns. If a member does some- 
thing at a class meeting that is really funny, by all 
means put an item about it in the class paper so that 
all can laugh—+f you are sure it will be taken in the 
proper spirit. ‘Tact is an essential qualification of the 
Reporter. 

Such facts as marriages, births, deaths or sickness 
in the family of a member, removals of residence, 
vacation or business trips, special business accomplish- 
ments and promotions, election of members to church 
or school offices, selection of a member for a place on 
a convention program, etc., should all be mentioned in 
the paper—while the news is still fresh. 

The course of study should be a regular feature in 
the class paper. There should be a brief outline of the 
lesson for the following Sunday, including also the 
daily Bible readings for the week. The Teacher will 
find the paper of decided help in developing thought 
on the lesson by suggestive questions and by the Bible 
reading that can be stimulated. There should be a 


268 


The Women’s Class in Action 


Jarvis Love Class Herald 


FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH 
Fort Worth, Texas, 





VOL. 1 


SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1924 


NO. I? 


‘Tis the every-day things that really count 

And the every-day people we know; 
And every-day kindnesses go so far? 

Toward making a heayen delow,* 


| a 2 ene 


Our printing machime went back on ws 
two weeks ago and we were unable to get 
the>paper out for that week. However our 
editér has kindly consented to double up on 
the work this week and give us two papers. 

Our editor is Mrs. Edwina. List; Some 
day when you feel like doing’ att “every: 
day kindness’ thank her for her effort and 
thoughtfulness during the seventeen: weeks 
in which she has given the Jarvis Love Class 
the HERALD. 

Sar Cl 
Those who attended the party given by 


Louella Myers and her sister, Mrs. + 
dard, last Tuesday had a very delightfub 


time 


wonderful, we played bunco. When the 
prize, a beautiful little Italian pottery basket 
was awarded, some of the other players 
wished they had played a little harder. Af- 
ter Mr. Nelson was presented with the con- 
solation prize, a big piece of cake, we were 
all invited- back to the kitchen for seconds 
of everything. We certainly did justice to 
that invitation. 
Don't miss our next party! 


At | eee 
There will be no mid-week meeting of the 
Christmas workers this week but on Wed- 


nesday of the following week Mrs. Ora Bell 
Nelson has invited them out to her home in 


the afternoon and the business girls to come’ 
The husbands and men, 


nm) the evening. 
ean of the. class are also cordially in- 
vite 

In next Sundays Herald we will give 
Mrs. Nelson’s address and. thé directions far 
geit.ng to her bome, 


—jJLC— 


The ‘Christmas Workers® are stilt on the 
lookout for a name for their club. Samar- 
itan. Society has been suggested. Won't you. 
piake a suggestion? 

The first cash donation to our Christmas 
offering was made last week by Ruby Hines 
Any one wishing to make an offering or a 
pledge at any time may do so. 

Louella Myers jis class treasurer. . 


Alter the dinner, which as usual, wad 


HONOR ROLL 


Mrs. E. L. Goodman Flizabeth Burton 


Bernie L. Collins Mare ve pea 
T.ucile Vetuski 
Irma Jewell Newsom Titlan. Neweoe 


Mildred Nicewander Corrie Cone 
Birdie Young Ferle Smith 
Marjorie Dickey Tanet W. Strajton 
Mrs. H. Eagleston Emma Baugh 
Katie Straiton Mrs. Jackson: 





paar | 
VISITORS 





One of our visitors, Mrs. Jackson from 
Dallas, is on the honor roll this week. Mrs. 
fagleston, chairman of the ‘Christmas 
Workers’ brought her grandmother, Mrs, 
Williams, to class last Sunday and Mrs, 
Myers, Louella’s mother visited us again. 
We were mightly glad to have all of them 
and hope they will ie with us again. 

Miss Ray Young, living at 809 Lake Si 
has been sick for two weeks. She woutd 
appreciate a visit from any member of the 
class Take tHe Henderson car. 

We are very glad to state that Mrs. A. 

L. Knight has returned after an absence of 
five months. Mrs. Knight has a friendly, 
willing way that endears her to all those 
who know her. Get acquainted today. 
. We are also very glad to welcome Mrs. 
G. C. Boswell and Mrs. Brower back to the 
elass after an absence. Little Beverly Jean, 
who arrived this summer, has kept Mrs, Bos- 
wrell away from class, ‘or quite a few weeks, 
We hope we can keep all of our old mem 
bers who are just returning in the list of 
‘regulars’ now. 

Ola Mae Bell was kept away for two Sun- 
days on account of the serious illness of 
her father. We are glad to state that he 
is very much better, and that Ola Mae was 
with us last Sunday. 

‘ The stork visited the home of Mrs, Frank 
O’Reilly in Dallas Saturday, September 27 
and left a nine pound girl, Katherine Flo- 
rence, Little Miss O'Reilly is the pee of 


‘Lillian and Irma Jewel Newsom so 


know whom to congratulate: Florence's bie 
brother is visiting his aunties and they are 

ah ie a a continual picnic and circus, com- 
irie 


FIGURE 23—A SINGLE-PAGE CLASS PAPER, FULL OF INTERESTING 
CLASS HAPPENINGS 


Advertising the Class 269 


calendar of lesson courses, published at least at the 
beginning of a new course of study. The Reporter 
will probably find points of interest in the lessons that 
she will want to publish the following week. Especially 
in the case of guest teachers should a good write-up 
of the talks be published. 

The class paper is an ideal place to present statistical 
information—the record of attendance and offering 
from week to week, punctuality, new members, daily 
Bible readers, church attendance, unusual attendance 
records, names of visitors, etc. Facts and figures pre- 
sented in this way can be studied by the members, 
who take pride in keeping the average up to standard. 
Quarterly, semi-annual and annual cumulations of 
statistics will be found interesting for purpose of 
comparison. 

As the primary purpose of the class is to win women 
for Christ, there should be space for short evangelistic 
items—stories of members who accept Christ should be 
specially featured. In some classes the statistics re- 
garding church members and those who make a pro- 
fession of faith are grouped under a “Lighthouse 
Record.” 

The class paper should also carry brief reports of 
officers’ meetings and class business meetings. The 
officers will want to put their plans before the class, 
and the class paper is a most satisfactory medium 
through which to do it. One hundred per cent of the 
class membership is rarely present at class business 
meetings—hence the importance of informing the ab- 
sentees of what transpired. The Reporter will remem- 
ber, though, that the class paper is not the secretary’s 


270 The Women’s Class 1n Action 


minute book—she should put into her stories only the 
essential facts of general interest. 

If an officer’s monthly or quarterly report contains 
matter of more than routine nature, publish an abstract 
in the class paper. Publish the Secretary’s and Treas- 
urer’s reports at least monthly; those of other officers 
at less frequent intervals. 

Vacation time may be a period of a news famine or 
there may be an abundance of news, depending on the 
cooperation the Reporter is able to secure. Those 
going on vacations should be urged to inform her when 
and where they are going, and also to write a letter 
or two while away, perhaps telling of other classes 
visited. 

Special articles are good for occasional publication. 
At Thanksgiving time the officers may each be asked 
to write in twenty words what they as class officers 
have to be thankful for. Members may be asked to 
write in fifty or seventy-five words on the topic, “What 
the Class Has Meant to Me,” or the Pastor or the 
church school Superintendent may be requested to 
prepare inspirational matter for publication from time 
to time. 

A number of classes regularly publish their member- 
ship rolls on one page of the class paper. It is question- 
able whether that is just the most helpful way to 
utilize space. Advertisements are also used by many 
classes to cover the cost of printing. While it is_ 
preferable to have a paper without advertising if pos- 
sible, most class treasuries are unable to stand the strain 
of such an investment. The Treasurer is the officer 
usually entrusted with the securing of advertising. 


Advertising the Class 271 
Special Editions 


It will occasionally be found desirable to issue 
special souvenir numbers of class publications. These 


Marathon 
Class 


METHODIST EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH, SOUTH 
LEXINGTON, MO. 


1923 





FIGURE 24—YEAR BOOK ISSUED BY A LIVE MISSOURI CLASS OF WOMEN. 
IT CONTAINS LISTS OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES, AN ACCOUNT 
OF WORK DONE DURING THE PAST YEAR, CLASS CALENDAR, TREAS- 
URER’S ANNUAL REPORT, ROLL OF MEMBERS, BLANK PAGES FOR 
NAMES OF NEW MEMBERS, CLASS CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS 


272 The Women’s Class in Action 


are often published in connection with Women’s Day, 
class anniversaries or on occasions such as Thanks- 
giving or Christmas. These special editions are often 
virtually year books, containing pictures of officers, a 
history of the class, annual statistics, accounts of class 
activities, etc., and are planned for all-year reference. 


VI. USING THE NEWSPAPERS 


Publicity 


The daily or weekly newspapers are a valuable source 
of publicity that is often overlooked. In small towns 
the weekly paper is almost always glad to receive news 
of class affairs—often such items are practically the 
only real news in the paper. In larger cities the space 
granted for class news will not be as large as in the 
smaller town papers, but if the matter submitted has 
news value—that is, if it is of interest to the public— 
it will be printed. Such items as elections, special pro- 
grams, courses of study on subjects of general interest, 
addresses by prominent men or women, and similar 
occurrences are always acceptable. Many papers now 
publish a regular religious column for church news. 

The Reporter should cooperate with all the other of- 
ficers in giving full publicity to the work of the class. 
She will assist the Vice-President in advertising mem- 
bership campaigns; the Visitor in her rally-day plans; 
the Entertainer in announcing banquets, socials, recep- 
tions, etc.; the Teacher in reports of unusually strong 
lessons, and the President in evangelistic work. As 
long as the matter submitted is mews, the papers are 
glad to print it—and leading metropolitan papers are 


Advertising the Class 273 


beginning to realize that religious news has as wide 
an appeal as sporting news. 


iv ta ~ -* = 





H\| NEW ADUET CLASS 
a~ AT THE BAPTIST CHURCH|: 





A new Adult class, ¢onsisting ; 
largely of Mothers, is to be formed 
next Sunday morsing at the Maple-| 
wood Baptist Church, as & practical 
| Mothers’ Day Memorial. Nog, 8, Q. 

+} Fare is to be the teacher. 
pay Mrs. Ware is well-known in St. 
E, piniis- County Feligions and civic 
\  golivities, having been prominent in 
ts Ww. C. 'T. U. affairs for years, . Ske} 
{ bas wide experience as a Biblet 
8 ‘teacher and is thoroughly practical 
8. in her applications. Mrs. Ware be-| 
\ Heves that Bible -principles were 
+ made ‘to be lived, and so teaches. 
The. needs of the members of the} 
new class will determine the exact | 
course of study to be followed. ‘ 
Emphasis will be placed . tipan } 
Christian: homée-making ang the de-t. 
fe eee of ‘the highest type ‘of nt 
“| Christin ‘character. / 
oun | -AH women interested in er 
a making and practical - Bible | study} 
yhO|-a%6 ‘nvited? to attende the class. 
ing Mothers’. Day carnations will p 











ry 
’ 






fii-| 




















FIGURE 25—A TYPICAL NEWS STORY WHICH FORMED PART OF THE 
PROMOTION PROGRAM FOR A NEW CLASS OF WOMEN; SEE ALSO 
FIGURES IQ AND 20 


In preparing stories for the papers don’t try “fine” 
writing. Give the facts—names, dates, places, figures, 


274. The Women’s Class in Action 


etc.—as clearly as possible. Use a typewriter or write 
very legibly on one side of the paper. Address news 


—_—_———. 


CRU UR UR SS Sa rca ch Sh or oe th ath ee os 


CARRYING OUT YOUR CONTRACT 
WITH GOD 


When you Inake 2 contract with anyone t must be based 
upon a valuable consideration, ‘ 


There was @ wontan Of Israel named Hannah and shé 
made a solemn contract with God. 


When ler von Samupl was-born he was promptly placed 
tn the church for training, 


As a result of that schoolmng he came to mahhood clean 
mipded and clear brained, He was e. statesman who 
ehaped and guided the niitional life of the Hebrews. © 


The flerce light of publicity beat upon him ae it does all 
who are invested with authority. He never failed in 
bie Jeadenship. zs 


Many a parent has Hved to rejoice that their faithfuk 
living has influenced sons and daughters to be good met 








pls “L 


om as 
= 


Palatal atat 


a ge 


7 


GaTatea Gok he 
ph pee nee pheiy epee 


—tat 
wep be 


~ 
-~ 





na Sea 


Pi 
mem pm ee pe 


. and true in all the hazards of the rough road of life. 
f Gamuel—the church-trained-boy of Israel—began well— 
eed continued well—ended well. 

rt 

rT . 

E! C. A. DOLPH BIBLE CLASS 


METHODIST SUNDAY SCHOOL 





FIGURE 26—A HIGH-TYPE NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT. IT IS WELL 
WRITTEN AND LAID-OUT; MAKES THE READER FEEL THE SPIRIT 


OF THE CLASS TEACHING 


items to the Religious Editor of the larger city papers, 
or the City Editor of smaller town papers. 


Advertising the Class 275 


The Denominational Press 

News likely to be of interest to other classes should 
by all means be sent to the state or national denomi- 
national papers. ‘The editors are specially anxious to 
receive information about new plans successfully 
worked by classes or of new applications to old ones. 
Most adult class magazines as well as state papers pub- 
lish pictures of live classes—when the class has a group 
photograph made, ask the photographer for a glossy, 
unmounted print and send to one of these papers 


Newspaper Display 

In smaller towns it may pay the class to buy 
newspaper space for running regular advertisements 
of the class. Such advertising will not pay if placed 
in large metropolitan papers unless the class draws 
from the entire city for its members or makes a special 
appeal to transients. For best results change the copy 
of the advertisement weekly. 


Classified Advertising 


If advertising funds are limited, use the classified 
columns of the small town newspapers. Several ads 
may be run during the last several days of the week 
at slight cost. These ads may simulate regular classi- 
fied advertising, e.g.: 


WANTED: 25 women to attend the Bible 
Class next Sunday morning. Special service in 
honor of mother. Address: by Mrs. 9 :30 
A. M., Eighth Ave. M. E. Church, Eighth Ave., 
at B. St. 











276 The Women’s Class in Action 


TO BUY: One hour of the time of 50 mothers next 
Sunday morning at 9:30 by the CHM Bible Class. 
We offer a satisfying service of worship, the oppor- 
tunity to discuss your home-making problems and 
the fellowship of nearly 100 Christian mothers. 
Topic for discussion: Play. Leader, Mrs. A. F. 
Wilkins. Christian Home Makers Class, Third 
Christian Church, 3617 Van Dorn. 


VII. OUTDOOR ADVERTISING 


The more often the class can make an advertising 
impression under slightly different circumstances, the 
stronger the reaction of the public will be. Outdoor 
advertising can be used in a limited way by the women’s 
Bible class to supplement direct-by-mail and newspaper 
advertising. 


Bulletins 


Well-designed class bulletin boards are excellent 
outdoor advertisements. If well located at railroad 
stations, electric car terminals, near hotels, or near 
prominent markets many women will see the class mes- 
sage. If no locations of that sort are available, a 
board can almost always be erected on the church prop- 
erty, provided it is dignified in appearance. Attractive 
changeable letter bulletins can be had at reasonable 
prices. 

Copy on the bulletin board should be changed at 
frequent intervals. If a painted board is used, it 
should be repainted at least every six months. Let 
the board reflect the class—people will judge the class 
by it. 


Advertising the Class 277 


Posters 


From time to time the class will want to have 
printed, large advertising cards for display in stores, 
store windows, in beauty parlors—yes, and now in 
barber shops. Homemade posters constructed of cut- 
out pictures mounted upon heavy paper are often 
more attractive than printed posters—and less ex- 
pensive. 


Window Displays 

If the class is really doing an outstanding piece of 
community service, it is sometimes possible to secure 
the consent of a local merchant to install a window 
display. In it the class may want to feature photo- 
graphs of its activities, models, charts, diagrams, maps 
and statistics. Get windows on the most prominent 
corners possible. 


VIII. MISCELLANEOUS ADVERTISEMENTS 


Moving Picture Shdes 


The class will probably reach more women at pic- 
ture shows than at any other one place. It is logical, 
then, for the class to advertise itself through “‘movie” 
slides—the main thing is to reach women where they 
are. It is well occasionally to use several slides show- 
ing the work being done by the class, explaining ideals 
for which it stands, and the like. Picture-show ad- 
vertising is one form that will be seen and read. 


Novelties 
Some classes distribute small pencils with the class 


278 The Women’s Class in Action 


name stamped on them, bookmarks, paperweights, 
calendars, shopping lists, etc., to women they hope to 
interest. This form of advertising does create a cer- 
tain amount of good will, but, all other things being 
equal, is not as resultful as direct-by-mail or news- 
papers. 


IX. COOPERATIVE ADVERTISING 


So far we have been discussing in this chapter ad- 
vertising of individual classes. Before the class invests 
heavily in advertising, it should consider the possibili- 
ties of a campaign in conjunction with the other classes 
of the school. 

If there are four graded adult classes in one church 
school, why should the four conduct separate cam- 
paigns? By combining their budgets it would be pos- 
sible to do more and better advertising with a com- 
paratively smaller sum of money. Fundamentally, the 
adult advertising appeal should be made in the name 
of the school’s adult department. 

Now let’s carry the thought a step farther. There 
are hundreds of unchurched adults in every com- 
munity—liabilities of the churches of those communi- 
ties. Individual churches can reach some—not all. 
Why then should not all the adult classes of a com- 
munity band together into an adult Bible class council 
and conduct a joint advertising campaign to reach all 
the unchurched of the community? Once more, there 
would be possible more compelling advertising at lower 
proportionate cost. It is this writer’s opinion that 
only through codperative effort of this sort will the 
world ever be won to Christ. 


Advertising the Class 279 


X. GENERAL PRINTED MATTER 


In addition to her strictly advertising duties, it is 
also the duty of the Reporter to work closely with the 
officers in planning printed matter needed in their 
activities. She is the woman in charge of everything 
pertaining to the use of printer’s ink. She will plan 
and have printed, programs, menus, tickets for enter- 
tainments, literature for the Vice-President, Visitor, 
Teacher, Entertainer or other officers needing special 
printed matter. Record forms will usually be planned 
by the officers using them. 

It will be seen that the Reporter’s responsibilities are 
equal to those of any other class officer. If she is not 
awake and allows opportunity for publicity to pass 
unused, the class will become just another class in a 
Sunday school. On the other hand, she can, by 
judicious advertising, increase the influence of the class 
and make it the best known, most talked of, most help- 
ful, institution in the community. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Barclay-Phifer, “Adult Worker and His Work,” Ch. 
VIII. 

Blick, “The Adult Department,” Ch. VII. 

Case, “Church Advertising.” 

Niese, “The Newspaper and Religious Publicity.” 

Hall, “Writing an Advertisement.” 

Perkins, “The Amateur Poster Maker.” 

Ross, “The Writing of News.” 

Scott, “The Theory of Advertising.” 


280 The Women’s Class in Action 


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 


I. Do you believe the women’s Bible class should 
advertise? 

2. What has YOUR class to advertise? 

3. What should the class expect from advertising? 

4. Work out an advertising plan for your class. 

5. Do you agree with the author’s position regarding 
cooperative advertising? Explain why or why not. 


ApPpENDIxX A 
ADDRESSES YOU NEED TO KNOW 


Abingdon Press (M. E.), 150 Fifth Ave., New York 
City. 

Association Press, 347 Madison Ave., New York. 

Children’s Bureau, Washington, D. C. 

Christian Board of Publication, 2712 Pine St., St. Louis. 

Cokesbury Press (M. E. South), 810 Broadway, Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Doran Company, George H., 244 Madison Ave., New 
York 


ork. 

Eden Publishing House (Evangelical), 1716 Chouteau, 
St. Louis. 

Erker Bros., 608 Olive St., St. Louis. (Picture Slides) 

Friends’ General Conference, 150 N. 15th St., Philadel- 
phia, Pa. 

International S. S. Council of Religious Education, 
1516 Mallers Bldg., Chicago, III. 

Judson Press (Northern Baptist), 1701 Chestnut St., 
Philadelphia. 

Keystone View Co., Meadville, Pa. (Slides, stereoscopes) 

Macmillan Co., 64-66 Fifth Ave., New York City. 

McKinley Publishing Co., 1619-21 Ranstead St., Phila- — 
delphia. (Outline maps) 

Missionary Education Movement, 150 Fifth Ave., New 
York City. 

National Child Welfare Association, 70 Fifth Ave., New 
York City. 

National Motion Picture League, 381 Fourth Ave., New 
York City. (Information about films suitable for use 
in churches) 

Perry Picture Company, Malden, Mass. 

Pilgrim Press (Congregational), 14 Beacon St., Boston, 
Mass. a 


282 The Women’s Class in Action 


Revell, Fleming H., 158 Fifth Ave., New York City. 

Religious Education Association, 308 N. Michigan Ave., 
Chicago, IIl. 

Scribner’s Sons, Charles, 597-599 Fifth Ave., New York 


ity. 
Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Sunday School Board, Southern Baptist Convention, 161 
Kighth Ave., N. Nashville, Tennessee. 
University of Chicago Press, Hyde Park, Chicago, IIl. 
Westminster Press, Witherspoon Bldg., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Women’s Press, 600 Lexington Ave., New York City. 


APPENDIX B 
SUGGESTIVE CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS 
Article I.—Name 


Phisiclass shallbe: known» as*the’ ..2...% 85: Bible 
GasMOMNe?. Yekeis. ss Sunday-school of the .......... 
Church. 


Article II.—Object and Motto 


The object of this class shall be Bible study, evangel- 
ism, Christian culture, and fellowship, to make aggressive 
efforts to bring women into the Sunday school and 
church, and to es practical Christian living. The 
Biase AIOLLO: SMALL Gyn are verted o'aclaibw ts ele sie ao 


Article IJJ.—Membership 


Section 1. Any woman from twenty-five to about 
thirty-five years of age may become a member of this 
class on presentation of name and election by unanimous 
vote of the members present. 

Sec. 2. Any one desiring to encourage the work of 
this class may become an honorary member on presenta- 
tion of name and election by unanimous vote. 

Sec. 3. No members are to be dropped from the class 
roll until a thorough investigation of causes of absence 
has been made, and a unanimous recommendation to 
drop the name be made by the executive committee. 


Article IV.—Officers 


Section 1. The officers of this class shall be the fol- 
lowing: 

Teacher, President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treas- 
urer, Visitor, Librarian, Entertainer, and Reporter. 

Sec. 2. These nine shall constitute an Executive Board. 


284. The Women’s Class in Action 


They shall have general supervision of the work of the 
class, and shall have power to fill all vacancies between 
elections. Any five members of this board shall con- 
stitute a quorum. 


Article V—Assistants 


Section 1. The Executive Board shall meet within one 
week after their election, and shall select members of 
the class to serve with the officers as assistants. 

Sec. 2. In making these selections effort shall be made 
to assign, as far as practicable, every member of the 
class to duty as assistant to one or more of the officers. 

Sec. 3. As new members are added to the class, effort 
shall be made to assign them to duty as assistants as soon 
as possible. 


Article VI.—Work 


Section 1. The Teacher shall have charge of all educa- 
tional work of the class, and shall be teacher, friend and 
adviser. She shall be consulted in all matters of 
importance. 

Sec. 2. The President shall be the class executive. 
She shall preside at the meetings, shall have the direction 
of the personal work and devotional interests of the class, 
and be general class executive. She is also chairman of 
the Executive Committee. 

Sec. 3. The Vice-President shall have charge of mem- 
bership increase. She shall secure new members and 
introduce them to the other members of the class. She 
shall also act as President in that officer’s absence. 

Sec. 4. The Secretary shall have charge of the class 
records. She shall keep a roll of the members, preserve 
minutes of all meetings, mark the records, prepare re- 
ports for the school, church or district association, and 
attend to all business correspondence. 

Sec. 5. The Treasurer shall have charge of all moneys. 
She shall look after the regular and special contributions 
and shall seek to promote the grace of liberality. 


Appendix B 285 


Sec. 6. The Visitor shall have charge of class visitation. 
She shall look after absent members, visit the sick, and 
aid members in securing employment. 

Sec. 7. The Librarian shall have charge of the class 
library. She shall see to the distribution of Bibles, song 
books, and papers, and shall seek to promote the reading 
of wholesome literature. She shall also preserve a file 
of class publications, advertising, etc. 

Sec. 8. The Entertainer shall have charge of class 
recreation. She shall arrange for music, socials, recep- 
tions, lectures, athletics, and the like. 

Sec. 9. The Reporter shall have charge of class ad- 
vertising. She shall see that due announcement is made 
of all meetings, and that items of interest are furnished 
to the papers. She shall also have charge of the editing 
of class papers, preparing advertising, and the like. 


Article VII.—Meetings 


Section 1. This class shall be a constituent part of the 
Sunday-school, subject to its rules and regulations, and 
shall meet at the regular Sunday-school hour, unless such 
other arrangement be made as shall meet with the ap- 
proval of the Educational Board or the Pastor and Super- 
intendent. 

Sec. 2. Other meetings may be held as arranged by a 
vote of the class or by the Executive Board. 

Sec. 3. A meeting may be called at any time by any 
five members of the Executive Board, provided notice 
be given at a previous Sunday meeting. 

Sec. 4. A business meeting shall be held as often as 
every three months, with a meeting of the Executive 
Board during the week preceding. 


Article VIIJJ.—Elections 


Section 1. Officers shall be elected annually at the 
regular business meeting in September, and elections 
shall be by a majority vote. 

Sec. 2. The School Educational Committee (or the 


286 The Women’s Class in Action 


Pastor and Superintendent) shall be consulted in regard 
to choice of the Teacher and her election shall be subject 
to their approval. 

Sec. 3. The new officers shall be inaugurated at the 
regular business meeting following their election, and 
shall assume their duties at that time. 

Sec. 4. Any officer shall be subject to removal from 
office upon two-thirds vote of the members present at 
any regular Sunday morning service or regular business 
meeting, provided that notice shall have been given at a 
previous meeting, and a copy of same sent to the officer 
in question. 


Article IX.—Finances 


Section 1. This class shall contribute of its means in 
accordance with the financial plans of the Sunday-school. 

Sec. 2. This class may also raise additional sums of 
money for the prosecution of their work as a class. 


Article X.—Amendments 


This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote 
of those present at a duly authorized business meeting 
of the class, provided notice of such amendment shall 
have been given at such previous meeting. 


SUGGESTIVE BY-LAWS 
Article I.—Membership 


Section 1. Any woman, 25 to 35 years of age, may 
become a member of this class after two consecutive 
Sundays’ attendance upon presentation of her name and 
election by unanimous vote of those members present. 

Sec. 2. New members may be voted in at any regular 
Sunday service or at any regular class business meeting. 


Appendix B 287 


Article II.—Meetings 


Section 1. A regular business meeting of the class 
shall be held the first Tuesday evening in each month 
for the purpose of transacting class business, of following 
a constructive study course, for furnishing entertain- 
ment and for promoting sociability among the members. 

Sec. 2. Executive Board meetings shall be held regu- 
larly every month on the Tuesday evening preceding the 
regular business meeting of the class. 

Sec. 3. Each officer shall call a meeting of her as- 
sistants at least once every quarter. 


Article III.—Quorum 


One-fourth of the resident membership of the class 
shall constitute a quorum at a business meeting. 


Article IV.—Election of Officers 


The election of officers shall be by private ballot, 
on nomination. | 


Article V.—Finances 


Section 1. Each member shall be expected to con- 
tribute, if financially able, .......... cents per month 
as dues for carrying on the class work. 

Sec. 2. The usual Sunday school offering shall be 
taken each Sunday, and turned in to the school treasury. 


Article VI—Reports of Officers 


Section 1. Every officer shall make a written report 
at each regular meeting of the Executive Board, and also 
at each regular business meeting. 

Sec. 2. The class President shall make a written re- 
port monthly to the school worker’s council. 

Sec. 3. The Secretary shall make an annual report to 


288 The Women’s Class in Action 


thea .... District Sunday School Council at such 
time as may be requested. 


Article VII.—Rules of Order 


Robert’s “Rules of Order” shall be the standard in all 
questions of order in the conduct of the business of the 
class. 


Article VIIJ.—Order of Procedure 


The order of procedure in the business meetings and 
in the meetings of the Executive Board shall be as fol- 
lows: (1) Call to Order; (2) Prayer; (3) Reading of 
Minutes; (4) Reading of Reports of Officers in the 
order of their naming in the constitution; (5) Unfinished 
Business; (6) New Business; (7) Class Motto or yell 
or song; (8) Announcements; (9) Adjournment; (10) 
Prayer. 


Article [X.—Amendments 


Section 1. These by-laws may be amended by a two- 
thirds vote of those present at a duly authorized business 
meeting of the class, provided notice of such amend- 
ment shall have been given at such previous meeting. 

Sec. 2. These by-laws may be suspended at any regu- 
lar class meeting by a two-thirds majority vote of those 
present. 


APPENDIX C 


A SUGGESTED STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE 
FOR ADULT BIBLE CLASSES 


(Some of the Sunday School Boards have denominational 
Standards of Excellence. The officers of the Women’s 
Bible Class should strive to meet such standards. The 
Adult Work Section of the International S. S. Council is 
also working on a standard for adult departments. 


I. Organization 

(a) The class shall have the following officers with 

duties as specified: 
Teacher—Instruction ; 
President—Executive and Religious activities; 
Vice-President—Membership increase; 
Secretary—Records ; 
Treasurer—Finances ; 
Visitor—Maintaining the membership; 
Librarian—Literature ; 
Entertainer—Social Life; 
Reporter—Publicity. 

It is not necessary that the officers be known by these 
particular names, but the work of the class should be 
covered as indicated. 

(b) The class shall be definitely connected with the 
school of the church. 

(c) The class shall meet with the adult department of 
the school, either in the entire opening or the entire clos- 
ing worship service, according to the plan of the school. 
If there is but one adult class in the school, it shall con- 
duct its own worship service in its own room. 

(d) The class shall be enrolled with the denominational 
board and shall display the class standard and certificate 
of enrollment. 

(e) The class shall make annual reports to the district 


Sunday School Council. 
289 


290 The Women’s Class 1n Action 


(f) The class membership shall be confined to one 
age range, e.g., 25-35; 35-45; 45 and up. Young people 
below 25 years of age shall not be grouped in the adult 
class, but in separate young people’s classes. 

(g) All offerings of the class shall be made into the 
treasury of the church school for general expenses and 
for benevolences fostered by the school, except when the 
school educational committee workers’ council shall 
agree that a certain per cent (which shall never exceed 
twenty-five per cent) shall be kept in the class treasury. 

(h) The Teacher shall hold a New Standard Teacher 
Training Diploma, or possess equivalent training, or 
should be regularly pursuing this course. Adult special- 
ization units should be included in the training work. 

(i) The Teacher shall be uniformly punctual, with 
an average attendance of at least eighty-five per cent 
(85%). If to be absent, she shall notify the department 
Superintendent in time for a substitute to be secured. 

(j) The class shall have its own room, isolated by 
walls or solid partitions, and properly furnished. 


II. Service 

(a) Bibles shall be used in the recitation of the lesson. 
In church history, missions or social service courses not 
based definitely on Bible material a portion of the lesson 
shall be devoted to the reading of selected Bible passages. 

(b) The attendance at the class sessions shall average 
at least two-thirds of the enrollment, in lieu of which all 
absentees must be communicated with each week. 

(c) The annual membership increase shall be not less 
than fifteen per cent (15%) of the active membership. 
Newly organized classes, week-day classes and extension 
members may count toward this percentage. 

(d) The class shall hold a business meeting at least 
once every three months. The attendance shall equal 
the Sunday morning average. 

(e) The class shall foster the work of teacher train- 
ing, study or reading courses of the denomination, with 
a view to larger Christian service. 

(f) The class shall be represented each year at the 


Appendix C 291 


adult conferences of Sunday school conventions, train- 
ing schools or institutes by members other than the 
Teacher. 
(g) Fifty per cent (50%) of the attending class mem- 
bership at one preaching service each week. 
(h) Fifty per cent of the attending membership mak- 
ing some definite lesson preparation. 
(i) Definite, personal evangelistic efforts. 
(j) Class membership urged to codperate with the 
church in its financial program, according to the church 
lan. 
(k) The class rendering definite Christian service 
(1) to the school; 
(2) to the church; 
(3) to the community. 


is. 
a hi 





INDEX 


Absentees, dropping from 
roll, 198 
Following, 192 
Keep informed, 194 
Activities, avoid duplica- 
tion, 157 
Addresses you need to 
know, 281 
Advertise the class, why?, 
249 
Advertise, what has class 
to?, 250 
Advertising 
Cooperative, 278 
Fundamentals, 252 
Funds, 218 
Must be followed per- 
sonally, 255 
The class, 249 
Adult class council, 168 
Adult department and the 


class, 41 

Adult department organiza- 
tion, 42-4 

Adults, does the school 
want? 18 


Age grading, 19-22 
Americanization, 163 
Anniversaries, class, 183 
Arlington Christian Church 
Class, Lexington, Ky., 
152, 171 
Assistants, 35 
Attendance 
Getting record of, 203 
Maintaining, 192 


293 


Balancing the study course, 
I 
Bandits 
Annual, 230 
Mother-and-daughter, 
24% 
Batten quoted, 88 
Bible 
American Revision, 51 
For class room, 51 
Geography, 61 
How to use, 61 
Moffatt Translation, 51 
Reading, daily, 247 
Selecting a, 246 
The Teacher’s knowledge 
of, 60 
Version to use, 51, 70 
Big Sisters, 165 
Bills, paying, 218 
Birthday records, 208 
Blackboard, 51 
Bookkeeping, class, 221 
Booklets, 262 
Book talks, 245 
Budget system, 219 
Bulletin boards, 276 
Bulletin, filing, 243 
Burroughs quoted, 33, 34 
Business meeting, 140, 205 
Class night plan, 229 


By-laws, 286 

Centenary M. E. Church, 
St. Louis, Anchor 
Class, 177 


294. The Women’s Class in Wena 


Church history, 123 
Church and the class, 44 
Church school—see “Sun- 
day school” 

Circulars, 262 
Classified advertising, 275 
Class days, 151 
“Class night” plan, 229 
Class paper, 265 

Editing the, 267 
Class room, 47 


Clubs, 232 
Compton Hgts. Christian 
CINTCH Violen otis, 


Women’s class, 160 
Constitution, 283 
Consideration, question of, 

143 
Contests, 180, 196 
Conventions, 158 
Cooperative advertising, 

278 
Cope—quoted, 148 
Correspondence, class, 214 
Correspondence study, 64 
Current topic talks, 246 


Debates, 78, 228 

Department organization 
for adults, 42-43 

Departmental plan of class 
organization, 33-35 

Direct mail advertising, 255 

Discussion lesson, 82 

Dramatics, 80, 236 

Dropping absentees from 
roll, 198 

Dues, 217 

Duplicating machine, 53 


Editing a class paper, 267 
Elective study courses— 
need of, 8&8 
Elective courses available 
Abingdon Press, 103 
Association Press, 102 
Baptist—North, 103 
Baptist—South, 104 
Century Company, 107 
Christian Board, 107 
Cokesbury Press, 107 
Congregational, 104 
Doran, George H., 105 
Evangelical, 107 
Friends, 105 
International, 1or 
Judson Press, 103 
Macmillan, 106 
Methodist—North, 103 
M. E. South, 107 
Missionary Education 
Movement, 108 
Pilgrim Press, 104 
Presbyterian, 105 
Revell, Fleming H., 106 
Scribner’s, 102 
Standard Press, 107 
Westminster Press, 105 
U. S. Government, 106 
University of Chicago, 
107 : 
Woman’s Press, 102 
Enrollment records, 207 
Entertainer, the, 227 
Entertainments, open, 235 
Emblem, importance of 
wearing, 187 
Equipment, 47-55 
Evangelism, 149 


Index 


Executive meetings, 142 
Expression of the lesson, 


Extension work of class, 


155, 156, 160 


Fellowship, 155 
Finances, 215 
Coordinating with church 

plan, 220 

First Christian Church, Ft. 
Worth, Texas, Jarvis 
Love Class, 268 

First M. E. School, Chatta- 
nooga, Tenn., 229 

Folders, 262 

Following visitors, 175 

“Four-square’ membership 
campaign, 181, 196 

Furnishings for class room, 
48 


Get-together meetings, 227 
Grading adults, 19-28 


Harmonies, making, 79 
Home department, 154, 156 
Home—reaching the, 154 


Interest grading, 22-24 
International graded _les- 
sons, 100 
International uniform les- 
sons, 98 
Interruptions, 48 


Large classes, 44 
Law enforcement, 163 
Laying out advertising, 265 


295 


Lecture method of teach- 
ing, 76 

Lesson, how to study, 68 

Lesson material, present- 
ing, 74 

Lesson plan, 72-76 

Lessons, supplementary lit- 
erature, 243 

Letters, advertising, 255 


Lexington, No i 
Church, Marathon Class, 
271 


Librarian, the, 240 


As literary counselor, 
246 

At Sunday sessions, , 243 
Library 


Do we need one?, 240 
Parents’, 242 
The teacher’s, 62-63 
Working the, 242 
Life-centered courses, 109 
Linwood Boulevard M. E. 
Department, Kansas 
City, 25-26 
Lyceum courses, 166 


Mailing cards, 261 
Mailing lists, 264 
Mannerisms, 59 
Maps, 52 
Maplewood Baptist Church, 
St. Louis, 
Amoma Class, 156, 232 
Women’s Class, 260, 261, 
273 : 
Membership increase, 173 
Members who move away, 


199 


296 The Women’s Class in Action 


Minutes, 211 
Missions, 61 
Class missionaries, 169 
Study courses, 124 
School of missions, 168 
Study, 168 
Mission schools, 163 
Mixed classes, 37 
Mother-and-daughter ban- 
quet, 162, 231 
Motion picture advertising, 
277 
Motions 
Amending, 144 
Dividing, 143 
How to make, 142 
Withdrawing, 143 
Music, 54, 229 


Names for classes, 38-40 

New classes, how-to organ- 
ize, 36 

New members 

Putting to work, 187 

Nursery, as service, 160 

Newspapers, using to ad- 
vertise, 272 

Novelty advertising, 278 


Offerings 
For Sunday school, 40 
Sunday, 217 
“One-at-a-Time” plan, 177 
Organization 
Appeal of, 30 
Characteristics of, 31 
Departmental plan, 33 
Scriptural example, 31 
Value of, 32 


Organizing 
Existing class, 36 
New classes, 36 
Outdoor advertising, 277 


“Pal” plan (attendance), 
107) ae 

Parent, discussion groups, 
161 

Parents’ library, 242 

Parkland Baptist Church, 
Louisville, Ky., Phila- 
thea class, 256 

Parliamentary procedure, 
142-146 

Physical program, 237 

Picnics 


Class, 231 
Mixed, 233 
Pictures 


For adult class room, 49- 


50 
In teaching, 84 
Planning a lesson, 72-76 
Points of information, 145 
Points of order, 145 
Points of privilege, 145 
Posters, 277 
Postponing action, 144 
Prayer circle, 150 
President 
Cooperation with pastor, 
151 
Her training, 135 
Qualifications, 133 
Previous question, 144 
Program, typical class, 138- 
139 
Projects, 77 


saad fe ed 


Index 


Prospects, sources of, 184 
Publicity director, the, 251 
Publicity, newspaper, 272 
Punctuality, 198 


Question and answer meth- 
od, 81 
Quorums, 142 


Rally days, 195 
Reading courses, 246 
Reading, Bible, 95 
Receptions, 231 
Annual, 182 
Records, 202 
Comparative, 211 
Using, 209 
Recognition of new mem- 
bers, 187 
Recruiting, 173 
Best time for, 186 
Reporter, the, 251 
Reviews in teaching, 75 
Room, care of the, 237 


“School days” social, 234 
School of missions, 169 
School records, 208 
Secretary, the, 202 
Service as expression of 
the lesson, 86 

Service activities, 148-171 
Service 

To church, 158 

To community, 162 

To home, 160 

To membership, 148 

To school, 156 

World service, 168 


297 


Shawnee, Okla., Baptist 
Church) Tbe L:velass: 
2h 


Slides, where to get, 53 
Social activities, why, 226 - 
Social affairs, how often, 
229 
Socialized recitations, 81 
Socials, mixed, 233 
Social, . 
Plans, 226 
Problems 
rooming house 
tricts, 167 
Room, 54 
Rooms for community, 
167 
Service, 163 
Social service study courses, 
124 
Speakers, special, 84 
Special speakers, introduc- 
ing, 13 
Standard of excellence, 289 
Stereopticon, 52 
Stories, 83 
Story-telling, encouraged by 
librarian, 247 
Study courses 
Available courses, 98-132 
Balancing, 91, 129-131 
Bible outline, 112 
Christian life, 117 
Church history, 123 
Doctrinal, 117 
Examples, 129 
How long?, 92 
Individually planned, 109 
Intensive Bible, 114 


of girls, in 
dis- 


298 The Women’s Class in Action 


Study Courses 
Life centered, 109 
Limiting factors, 89 
Made for class, 100 
Missions, 124 
Parents, 117 
Perspective in planning 

course, 67 

Purpose of, 88 
Social service, 124 
Variation of approach, 


ys 

Who selects course?, QI 

Without a teacher, 93 
Study lesson, 82 
Study, when to begin, 69 
Sunday school 

Obligation of class to, 40 

Obligation to class, 40 


Sunday sessions of class, 


136 
Suppers, 228 
Supplementary lesson ma- 
terial, 243 
Survey of community, 162 


Talks, special, 86 
Teacher, and the class, 67 

Her library, 62-63 

Her training, 59 

How to become trained, 

04 

Personality, 57 

Selecting, 56 

Training, 157 
Teaching equipment, 51 
Teaching methods 

Discussion, 82 

Lecture, 76 


Teaching Methods 
Project-problem, 77 
Question and answer, 81 
Socialized recitations, 81 
Study lesson, 82 
Topical, 80 
Teaching unit, 73 
Third Baptist Church, St. 
Louis, Reapers’ Class, 
262, 263 

Topical method of teaching, 
80 

Training, how to secure, 


Treasurer, the, 215 
Opportunities for 
vice, 224 
Twin Sunday, 184 


S¢€I- 


Vacation schools, 166 
Valentine plan (attend- 
ance), 184 7 
Vice-president, 173 
Visitation, 159 
Visitor, the, 191 


Webster Groves, Mo., Bap- 
tist Church, Christian 
Home-Makers’ class, 
170 

Welcoming members, 173 

Withdrawal records, 258 

Window displays, 277 

Workers’ library, 241 

Worship, 137-138 

Conducting school pro- 
grams, 158 


Zoo plan (attendance), 197 











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